Man duped of Rs 1 crore over investment in 'film on Modi'

LUCKNOW: Rs 1 crore was extorted by a gang of three from a businessman in the Man duped of Rs 1 crore over investment in 'film on Modi' name of filming a movie about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The incident took place in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Businessman Hemant Kumar Rai was allegedly approached by Sikander Khan, Sanjay Singh and Shabbir Qureshi in September 2023 to make a film and made him invest Rs 1 crore.

The businessman was running a company that posted songs on YouTube. Sanjay Singh introduced other two accomplices to Hemant at a hotel and claimed that they have obtained an NOC from the Prime Minister's office to make a film on Modi. Sanjay told Hemant that only 10 days' of shoot is there and Rs 1crore is needed for production.

"I was promised a profit of 25%. I gave the money in instalments and through RTGS in Qureshi’s bank account and we also signed a contract on which the dealing with profit sharing was mentioned,” Hemant Rai said.

Hemanth expressed his concern that the shooting of the film did not start even after months, and they avoided him citing various reasons.

“In Jan 2024, they signed a contract promising to refund my Rs 1 crore if they failed to secure an NOC from the PMO. Qureshi gave me postdated cheques worth Rs 20 lakh (two cheques) and Rs 30 lakh (two cheques). However, the cheques were dishonoured when I deposited them for encashment. Sanjay had defrauded me of crores of rupees in the past in the name of a model and would threaten to frame me in cases on demanding the money. They also use blackmail tactics,” he alleged.

Following this he lodged a complaint with the police, who charged the trio with fraud and launched an investigation. The police said that they will check the bank transactions and check if anyone else has been a victim of similar fraud.