Popular filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt have been arrested for duping the owner of Indira IVF Hospital who wanted to make a biopic on his late wife. ₹30 million crowns.
The Udaipur police arrested a couple from Mumbai on Sunday, December 7.
Six other people were also accused of defrauding Dr. Udaipur-based Ajay Murdia, founder of Indira Group of Companies, news agency PTI reported citing an official.
Two people were previously arrested in connection with the cheating case.
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Here’s what the doctor said:
Dr Murdia, owner of Indira IVF Hospital, wanted to make a biopic on his late wife, the official said. In his FIR, the doctor claimed that he was promised earnings ₹200 million crowns.
“But nothing materialized, Murdia then approached the Bhopalpura police station in Udaipur, where an FIR was registered for cheating and other offences,” the official added.
The Udaipur police remanded Bhatt and his wife in transit custody later in the evening till December 9.
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What do couples lawyers say?
The couple’s lawyers, Rakesh Singh and Sanjay Singh, argued that the Rajasthan police had arrested the couple recklessly without proper permission.
They claimed the couple was threatened and forced to sign a document without a date or time. Murdia, who runs a pan-India business in the field of female infertility, accused the filmmaker along with other accused of defrauding him with inducements and false assurances of huge profits from film production.
The couple’s lawyers Rakesh Singh and Sanjay Singh told the court that the reasons for the arrest were not properly communicated to the accused.
The police forced them to sign a document without date and time, they claimed.
The police threatened to torture him in Rajasthan if he did not sign the document as per their wish, the defense claimed.
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What does the police investigation reveal?
Police preliminary investigation revealed that Dr. Murdia was introduced to the accused by an acquaintance with a proposal to make a biopic on his late wife.
A deal was then drawn up between Murdia and the Bhatts in May 2024 to produce a total of four films, including a biopic, police said.
The total transaction was valued at ₹47 million. While the first two projects were reportedly completed, the remaining films were never made, police said.
Investigation by the Udaipur police found that the accused were preparing fake documents (fake vendor accounts) with the intention of cheating and defrauding the complainant of crores of rupees.
The accused persons prepared a plan to deceive the complainants, obtain funds by preparing fake bills (in the name of fake sellers), preparing documents by greatly inflating vouchers and pay slips against reality and verifying them as true, the police said.
The accused is said to have sucked approx ₹30 crores from Murdia.
After he was produced in court, the Rajasthan Police sought transit custody for two days to take the accused from Mumbai to Udaipur by road for further interrogation and trial.
After hearing both sides, the court granted transit detention until December 9.
