Udaipur Police obtained transit remand of Vikram Bhatt and his wife till 9 December. File | Photo courtesy: The Hindu
Udaipur Police on Sunday (December 7, 2025) arrested popular filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife from Mumbai in connection with a ₹30 crore fraud case registered in Rajasthan, an official said.
Mr Bhatt, his wife Shwetambari Bhatt and six others are accused of defrauding Udaipur-based Dr Ajay Murdia, founder of Indira Group of Companies, to the tune of Rs 30 crore, the official said. He told that the first two people have been arrested in the case.
He said, a team of Udaipur Police investigating the case caught Vikram Bhatt and Shwetambari on Sunday (December 7, 2025).
“Murdia, owner of Indira IVF Hospital, wanted to make a biopic on his late wife. He has alleged that he was promised earnings of ₹200 crore. But nothing happened, following which Murdia approached Bhopalpura police station in Udaipur, where an FIR was lodged for fraud and other crimes,” the officer said.
Later in the evening, Udaipur Police obtained transit remand of Mr Bhatt and his wife till December 9.
The couple’s lawyers – Rakesh Singh and Sanjay Singh – claimed that the Rajasthan Police had brutally arrested the duo without proper permission. They claimed that the couple was threatened and forced to sign a document without date and time.
Murdia, who operates a pan-India business in the field of female infertility, has alleged that the film producer, along with other accused, defrauded her by luring her with false promises of huge profits from film production.
Preliminary police investigation revealed that Dr. Murdia was introduced to the accused by an acquaintance with the proposal of making a biopic on his late wife.
Police said an agreement was then drawn up between Murdia and the Bhatt family to make a total of four films, including a biopic, in May 2024. The total deal value was ₹47 crore. Police said that while the first two projects were reportedly completed, the remaining films were never made.
Udaipur Police investigation found that the accused prepared fake documents (bills of fake vendors) with the intention of cheating and defrauded the complainant of crores of rupees.
Police said that a scheme was hatched by the accused persons to defraud the complainant, money was obtained by preparing fake bills (in the name of fake vendors), documents were prepared by inflating vouchers and salary vouchers at a higher rate than the reality and the same were verified as true. The accused allegedly embezzled around ₹30 crore from Murdiya.
After being produced in the court, Rajasthan Police sought two days’ transit remand to transport the accused from Mumbai to Udaipur by road for further interrogation and legal proceedings.
The couple’s lawyers Rakesh Singh and Sanjay Singh told the court that the accused were not properly informed about the reasons for their arrest. He claimed that the police forced him to sign a document without date and time.
The defense claimed that the police threatened to torture him in Rajasthan if he did not sign the document as per their wishes.
After hearing both the sides, the court allowed transit remand till December 9.
published – December 08, 2025 06:35 AM IST