Bareilly: Renowned Bollywood director and screenwriter Ikram Akhtar, known for his work alongside superstars like Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan, has been incarcerated in Moradabad jail for more than two months in a cheque bounce case. Akhtar was arrested by the UP police in Mumbai on September 19, following his evasion of arrest since December 2022 when a warrant was issued against him.

A resident of Mumbai, Akhtar has been unable to find guarantors despite being granted bail by the court, which ordered him to provide two sureties of Rs 10 lakh each before he is released. Akhtar has screenwriting credits for blockbusters like Salman Khan starrer ‘Ready’, Ajay Devgn’s ‘Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha’ among many others. His legal woes trace back to his involvement in the film ‘I Love Dubai’, produced by Moradabad-based real estate baron Kuldeep Katyal.

During the making, disputes cropped up between the two, with Akhtar abandoning the project midway. Katyal then filed a complaint against him in 2016.

Akhtar then alleged the film’s completion was stalled due to a dispute between Katyal and the lead actress. This culminated in Akhtar’s arrest and incarceration in 2017.