The police on Monday arrested a director-producer couple for allegedly cheating the actor-cum-financier of their upcoming movie to the tune of Rs 4.7 crore. According to the Amboli police, the arrested accused was identified as James John and his wife Shobha Barla, both residents of Andheri. The complainant in the case, Imran Qureshi (25), has acted in their upcoming, unnamed movie and also financed it. John has directed the movie while Barle is the producer, the police said. “Qureshi approached us last week with a complaint against the couple. He said, in his complaint, that in 2011, the couple approached him and discussed the movie with him. After several rounds of negotiations, Qureshi agreed to finance the movie and the couple also gave him a role to play in the movie. During these same discussions, the couple agreed to give him distribution rights to the movie when it was complete. From 2011 to 2014, Qureshi financed the movie, paying a total of Rs 4.7 crore,” said an officer with the Amboli police. The police said that in December last year, the movie was completed, after which Qureshi found out that the couple had given the distribution rights of the movie to someone else. Qureshi then demanded the rights or his money back, and when the couple allegedly refused to give him either, he approached the police. “After Qureshi approached the Amboli police, prima facie investigations were conducted into his complaint, and after we found substance in his claims, the accused were arrested on Monday. They have both been charged with cheating under the Indian Penal Code,” said Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni. John and Barla were produced in the Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Andheri on Monday and have been remanded to police custody till January 9. The Amboli police is now questioning them further in connection with the case, said police officers.
