All You Need To Know About Rs 30 Crore Fraud Case Against Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt And His Wife
Vikram Bhatt, his wife and six others have been accused of defrauding Dr Ajay Murdia, who is the founder of Indira Group of Companies.
Acclaimed filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari Bhatt, were arrested by a team of Rajasthan Police from Mumbai on Sunday, Dec. 7, in an alleged Rs 30 crore fraud case filed by an Udaipur-based doctor.
After taking the couple into custody, the Udaipur police secured transit remand of Bhatt and his wife till Dec. 9, PTI reported.
Bhatt, his wife and six others have been accused of defrauding Dr Ajay Murdia, who is the founder of Indira Group of Companies, of Rs 30 crore, a Mumbai Police official said. Earlier, two accused were taken into custody in connection with the matter.
What's The Case?
Dr Murdia, who owns Indira IVF Hospital and runs a business across the country offering female infertility treatment, was looking forward to making a biopic on the life of his late wife, Indira. He alleged that promises of Rs 200 crore in earnings were made to him, but nothing materialised, the official said.
Later on, Murdia lodged a complaint at the Bhopalpura police station in Udaipur. Later on, an FIR was registered for cheating and other offences in the matter.
Dr Murdia claimed that Bhatt and others duped him by inducements and made false assurances of huge profits from film production, according to PTI.
As per the FIR, Dr Murdia met Bhatt on April 25, 2024, in Mumbai, The Indian Express reported. At that time, he spoke to Bhatt about a project in memory of Murdia’s late wife.
Preliminary investigation in the matter reveals that Dr Murdia was introduced to the filmmaker and others by an acquaintance.
Later on, Murdia and the Bhatts prepared an agreement in May last year for making four films in total, which included the biopic on Indira's life and journey. In total, the deal was valued at Rs 47 crore.
The police informed that two of these projects were said to be completed, while the remaining ones were never made.
In its probe, the Udaipur Police found that the accused allegedly prepared false documents, which included bills from fake vendors. This was done to cheat and defraud the complainant of crores of rupees.
Later on, the accused allegedly came up with the plan to deceive the complainant and siphoned off nearly Rs 30 crore from Dr Murdia. They are believed to have prepared fake documents by inflating vouchers and verifying them as true.
What Happened In Court?
The Rajasthan Police later produced the accused in a court to seek a two-day transit remand in the matter. The plan was to transport them to Udaipur from Mumbai by road for further investigation in the case.
Lawyers Rakesh Singh and Sanjay Singh, who represented Bhatt and his wife, informed the court that the grounds of arrest were not properly communicated to them. Also, they claimed that the accused were forced by the police to sign a document without a date and time.
Further defending the Bhatts, they stated that police threatened to torture them in Rajasthan if they failed to sign the document.
The couple's lawyers even alleged that the Rajasthan police had high-handedly arrested their clients without proper permission.
After hearing them, the court later allowed transit remand till Dec. 9. Further investigation into the matter is currently underway.
