Filmmakers cheated of Rs 24.50 lakh in Gurugram

Gurugram, Aug 22 (IANS) A group of miscreants posing as filmmakers forced two film producers at gunpoint to transfer Rs 24.50 lakh to an unknown bank account, the police said here on Thursday. An FIR has been registered at the Badshahpur police station.

Ravindra Amer and Santosh Jain, Mumbai-based film and television serial producers, came in contact with Praveen Kumar who posed as a film financer. Assuring them to finance their projects, Kumar invited them to Delhi.

On reaching Delhi on August 10, Amer and Jain met Kumar, Arjun Gupta, Sher Singh and two other persons at a five-star hotel.

"During the meeting, Kumar agreed to finance their films. But asked for a local bank guarantor and Rs 50 lakh bank guarantee. The producers were also asked to sign written agreement. They were asked to meet them at Hong Kong Plaza shopping centre in Sector 56 the next day," said SHO Mukesh Kumar.

When Amer and Jain reached Hong Kong Plaza with Pravesh Kumar Singh, the local guarantor and a resident of Palam, they were taken to 'an office' near Vega school in Sector 48. According to complainants, seven more people were present there.

Soon a person in Delhi Police uniform entered the office and took away their mobile phones and wallets. "They were also assaulted and forced to online transfer Rs 24.50 lakh to a bank account," the SHO said.

"The man in police uniform was quite aggressive and asked them to write on a plain paper that they were carrying contraband and forged currency notes in their car," the SHO said.

"They were dumped near the Palam police station in Delhi and threatened to appear before the SHO next day," Kumar said.