Investor among 11 held for kidnapping and assaulting filmmaker: Bengaluru police

According to the police, Avinash moved from Bengaluru to Mumbai about two months ago. He then informed a female actor friend in Indiranagar that he was planning to sell his car. The accused reportedly offered to help him find a buyer.

On February 9, Avinash was called back to Bengaluru from Mumbai under the pretext of finalising the car sale. Upon arrival, he was allegedly kidnapped in a car and taken to a house under Byadarahalli police limits, where five to six people allegedly assaulted him using cricket stumps and hockey sticks, causing severe injuries and fracturing his leg. The assailants also robbed him of cash and gold ornaments he was wearing, according to his complaint.

The accused later drove Avinash to Mandaragiri Hill near Panditanahalli in Tumakuru district, where two more people joined them and continued the assault.

During the ordeal, Avinash pleaded with the accused, assuring them he would settle the financial dispute and requesting medical attention. The attackers eventually admitted him to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Bengaluru. From the hospital, he alerted the police.

The police said that investigations led them to 11 accused, including one woman, and that they confessed to their involvement in the crime. The police seized six mobile phones used in the crime, gold ornaments, cash, and a car.

The accused—identified as Ashirvad (the investor), Shaahid, Rehan, Charan, Dhruva, Arif, Arsalan, Sanjay, Aishwarya, Lakhmi Narayan, and Sujan—have been produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.

They have been booked under sections relating to kidnapping, attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy.

The police said that each of the accused had a role in the director’s unreleased project. Disputes arose because accounts of money exchanged between Avinash and Ashirvad were not maintained properly, leading to disagreements over payments.

According to police, when Ashirvad received a notice from the Tamil Nadu police regarding the complaint, he allegedly instigated, planned, and executed the attack along with the other accused.

“Ashirvad orchestrated the entire operation, took along the 11 accomplices, and executed the assault in a premeditated manner,” a police officer said.

The police said that Aishwarya, who has reportedly worked in Kannada television serials and a movie, was also involved in the conspiracy. She allegedly became part of the plan because she was owed a certain amount of money by Avinash.

“Her inclusion in the group was motivated by financial claims she had against the director,” the officer said.