Mumbai Police books Netflix series ‘Jamtara’ producer Manish Trehan for allegedly duping a Khar businessman of Rs 2.5 crore

According to the complaint filed, Trehan promised  Nihar that he would return the money within a year with interest.

However, he did not pay back and defrauded the financer, the police said.

Nihar, who has a finance service firm, met Trehan in October 2022, through a common contact.

Trehan had then introduced himself as director of an advertisement editing company ‘Click On RM Pvt Ltd.’ with his wife also as the director in the company.

According to the FIR, Trehan requested  Nihar to provide him Rs 2 crore for the business expansion. He promised to return the money within a year (by October 2023) along with the interest. Trusting Trehan, Nihar transferred Rs 2 crore to him via online.

After a year, Trehan visited Nihar’s office along with a person named Satvant Singh. Trehan introduced Singh as a senior functionary from a popular OTT platform.

When Nihar asked Trehan about the money, the latter told him that he had invested his money in a film. He claimed that film’s shooting is done and only the editing work is left for which he needed Rs 50 lakh more from Nihar, the FIR said.

According to the complainant, Trehan told him that if he helps him with the money then the film will be sold to the OTT platform and in the next six months he would get the money, from which he will replay Nihar.

Nihar then transferred Rs 50 lakh to Trehan’s bank account on October 5, 2023. This time on the instructions of Nihar, Trehan gave a written assurance in the form of a loan agreement stating that he had taken Rs 1.25 crore from Nihar as loan.

Trehan also gave four post dated cheques to Nihar totalling Rs 2.50 crore with a promise that he would return all the money with interest by March 31, 2024, the police complaint said.

However, Trehan again failed to repay and when Nihar deposited the cheques in the bank, the same were not processed by the bank as Trehan had “stopped payment” on the said cheques.

When Nihar contacted Trehan, he did not take the calls and later blocked him.

After his complaint was not being registered, Nihar approached then DCP Raj Tilak Roushan and later DCP Dixit Gedam. On the DCP Gedam’s directive, the Santacruz police Thursday booked Trehan along with Singh under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (Common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

Nihar has also alleged that his complaint also names Trehan’s wife as a co-accused but the police has skipped her name from the FIR.

Tehran was unavailable for comments.

On Singh’s role, Nihar said that he later discovered that he was in fact Trehan’s man and was not associated with any OTT platform. The police are checking the veracity of the allegations made against Trehan.

Trehan’s advocate Shivam Deshmukh said, “Nihar had advanced a friendly loan. However, an amount of Rs 90 lakhs ( approximately) was paid to him until March, 2024. On April 01, 2024 Nihar and his father called Trehan at their office and threatened and coerced him to pay a sum of Rs 1,60,00,000 in cash forthwith failing which he shall suffer dire consequences. Trehan requested for 6 months to meet their unlawful demands. However, Nihar and his father did not allow Trehan to leave their office until 4:30 pm. Next day and NCR was registered against them at Santacruz police station.”

Subsequent, to commercial transaction and after receiving huge portion of Money, Nihar filed a police complaint and in compliance of same Trehan has remained present as and when called. The FIR is registered only to meet unlawful demands of Nihar, Deshmukh added.