They came, they ate, and he fed the media

Mehraj Rehman, former husband of Maanyata, impressed cops and hotel staff with his high tastes

When Mehraj Rehman, ex-husband of Maanyata, entered the posh Vista restaurant on the 2nd floor of Hotel Taj Land’s End at Bandra on Tuesday afternoon, the hotel staff mistook him for a VIP enjoying police protection.

Clad in trendy jeans and shirt, Rehman, accompanied by sub inspector Venkatesh and two constables from the Begapet police station, Hyderabad, took a table for four and asked for the menu.

To start with, he ordered a bottle of Sula Satori Mulot wine (Rs2,500) and a packet of State Express cigarettes (Rs150). As one of the cops refused to drink wine, he was offered a cup of cold coffee.

He then asked for Shammi Kebab (Rs1,300), Tandoori Chicken (Rs1,250) and Cappuccino (Rs275) to go with the wine. Two plates of assortment of sandwiches costing Rs1,100 and Rs550 were ordered to keep the cops happy and engaged.

The main meal included Gosht ki Biryani costing Rs1,400 and Makki ki Roti for Rs375. At the end of the party, the bill amounted to Rs9,480 and with added VAT of Rs1,300, it totalled up to Rs10,845.

Before the bill came to the table, Rehman told the satisfied cops that he had to meet a journalist in the hotel lobby. Sub-inspector Venkatesh accompanied him to the lobby from where Rehman ran outside, took a taxi and disappeared.

The poor cops were left high and dry. When the hotel staff demanded payment, they said that they did not have that much money. Finally, the case was referred to the Bandra police. Once back home, the cops are bound to face disciplinary action for the silly mistake they made by accepting late lunch at a five-star hotel.

But the antics of Rehman, who was to reach Arthur Road jail by 6 pm, didn’t end there. After the hearty meal, he escaped from the cops to hobnob with the media. In fact, when he had reached Bandra, he used the cell phones of the Hyderabad policemen to inform news channels that he would be at the five-star hotel. When he reached the hotel, media persons from two news channels were already waiting there.

But after the lunch, he gave the cops and the waiting journalists the slip and headed straight to the office of another private news channel. The channel got in touch with the police, and Rehman was arrested.

Senior inspector Dilip Gaikwad said, “Rehman told the cops that he knew Shah Rukh Khan and that he would show them the actor’s house. Since the policemen were new to the city, they got excited and let him call the shots.”
Niket Kaushik, DCP, Zone IX, said, “The policemen from Hyderabad were definitely at fault. The Hyderabad police department will decide what action should be taken against them.”