Source India Today
In a major development, veteran filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari Bhatt, were arrested on Sunday by a combined team of Mumbai and Rajasthan police in connection with a ₹30 crore fraud case.
The case stems from a complaint filed by Dr Ajay Murdia, founder of the Indira Group of Companies, who alleged that the Bhatt couple — along with several associates — had duped him of ₹30 crore under the pretext of producing a film. The project, pitched as a biopic on his late wife, was promised to yield returns as high as ₹200 crore, according to the FIR.
According to police, the arrests were made from Mumbai during a joint operation, and authorities plan to seek a transit remand from the Bandra court to transfer the couple to Udaipur for further investigation.
Background to the case: The FIR was registered at Bhupalpura police station in Udaipur. Along with Vikram and Shwetambari Bhatt, the complaint names several others, including associates involved in the film-production arrangement. The scheme allegedly involved repeated payments from Dr Murdia, which were purportedly meant for film production under a company registered in the name of Shwetambari Bhatt.
The allegations date back to April 2024, when Dr Murdia — on advice of a third party — met Vikram Bhatt at a Mumbai studio and was promised full production of the biopic. As per the complaint, although some initial work began, the project never materialized, and the promised returns turned out to be false.
Commenting earlier on the FIR, Bhatt had called the allegations “misleading,” suggesting that documents might have been forged. He denied any wrongdoing, stating that he had only learned of the complaint recently and expressed readiness to cooperate with investigations.
The arrest has drawn widespread attention in entertainment and media circles, given the high-profile nature of those involved and the substantial alleged fraud amount. Legal proceedings and police investigation are now underway to unravel the full details of the alleged scam.
