In the LAP of trouble: Arjun Rampal owes ITDC Rs 3 crore, says he can’t pay!
23 Jan 2014 5:56 AM IST
According to ITDC sources, the total bills stood at Rs 4.5 crore of which Rampal has paid only Rs 1.5 crore and that too after a court order. ITDC is a government-run company.
Rampal, who runs the members-only exclusive club in Hotel Samrat for the last several years, has not been paying the monthly rent of nearly Rs 33 lakh for some months now. When ITDC Ltd finally acted tough on Rampal, he moved to the court seeking relief on the ground that he had not been getting enough business in this nightclub because of which he had been unable to pay the ‘exorbitant’ rent.
The model-actor turned restaurant owner wanted financial relief from the court but the court has ordered him to pay Rs 1.5 crore immediately to ITDC. Meanwhile, the lease for LAP in Chanakyapuri area has already expired. According to senior officials, since the matter is sub-judice Rampal will continue to run LAP till the time the case is disposed of finally.
Public sector undertaking ITDC is now taking serious action to recover dues from various defaulters which includes various government ministeries and departments housed in its properties. According to sources, Rampal has roped in a new partner also to sustain the business of LAP.
The exclusive club had opened with immense fanfare in the national capital in August 2009, creating a buzz with reports of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s wife Gauri Khan having designed the lounge-bar-restaurant along with Rampal’s wife Mehr. The nightclub also had parts designed by ace fashion designers Rohit Bal and Tarun Tahiliani.
In Nov 2009, LAP hit the headlines when Manu Sharma, the main convict in the Jessica Lal murder case, was seen at the club when he came out of jail on parole citing illness of his mother. Close circuit television camera footage had shown that Manu Sharma had come to the pub along with one of the members Sahil Dhingra. After the incident, Rampal cancelled Dhingra’s membership of LAP.
Rampal, who runs the members-only exclusive club in Hotel Samrat for the last several years, has not been paying the monthly rent of nearly Rs 33 lakh for some months now. When ITDC Ltd finally acted tough on Rampal, he moved to the court seeking relief on the ground that he had not been getting enough business in this nightclub because of which he had been unable to pay the ‘exorbitant’ rent.
The model-actor turned restaurant owner wanted financial relief from the court but the court has ordered him to pay Rs 1.5 crore immediately to ITDC. Meanwhile, the lease for LAP in Chanakyapuri area has already expired. According to senior officials, since the matter is sub-judice Rampal will continue to run LAP till the time the case is disposed of finally.
Public sector undertaking ITDC is now taking serious action to recover dues from various defaulters which includes various government ministeries and departments housed in its properties. According to sources, Rampal has roped in a new partner also to sustain the business of LAP.
The exclusive club had opened with immense fanfare in the national capital in August 2009, creating a buzz with reports of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s wife Gauri Khan having designed the lounge-bar-restaurant along with Rampal’s wife Mehr. The nightclub also had parts designed by ace fashion designers Rohit Bal and Tarun Tahiliani.
In Nov 2009, LAP hit the headlines when Manu Sharma, the main convict in the Jessica Lal murder case, was seen at the club when he came out of jail on parole citing illness of his mother. Close circuit television camera footage had shown that Manu Sharma had come to the pub along with one of the members Sahil Dhingra. After the incident, Rampal cancelled Dhingra’s membership of LAP.
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