Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and wife arrested in Rs 30-crore fraud case

The Rajasthan Police on Sunday arrested filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt in connection with a fraud case involving Rs 30 crore. The case involves Dr Ajay Murdia, the owner of Udaipur's Indira Group of Companies.Bhatt, his wife Shwetambari Bhatt, and six others are accused of defrauding the company. The arrest took place during a joint operation by the Rajasthan Police and Mumbai Police at the home of Bhatt’s sister-in-law in Mumbai’s Yaari Road area.

The complaint, filed by Indira IVF founder Dr Ajay Murdia at Bhupalpura police station in Udaipur, accuses Bhatt and his associates of financial wrongdoing and false promises. Dr Murdia alleged that the filmmaker and his associates lured him into investing more than Rs 30 crore in four films by promising high returns (up to Rs200 crore). One of the films was said to be a biography meant to pay tribute to Dr Murdia’s late wife.

Earlier, Udaipur Police issued a lookout notice against the film director, his wife, and other accused. Last month, Bhatt denied of the allegations, saying that the police have been completely misguided. “I think it came on a TV channel in Rajasthan that there has been an FIR against me. And then a journalist friend of mine sent me an FIR. So I read the entire FIR. Now, to be honest, I feel that the Rajasthan Police is being misled," he had said. Vikram further alleged that Dr Murdia halted the film 'Virat' before completion and failed to make pending payments. “He stopped the film midway. The technicians are still owed around Rs 250 crore. They’ve been calling him. I believe this is a tactic to avoid clearing dues,” he claimed.