Composer Pritam Chakraborty was in for a shock when Ashish Sayal, a 32-year-old assistant at his studio, allegedly fled with Rs. 40 lakh in cash. The amount had been received as payment from a production house for an assignment.

A source close to Pritam tells us, “The incident came as a shock to Pritam. He really trusted Ashish and more than the money, he was taken aback by the breach of trust. Pritam didn’t lodge a complaint immediately and he waited, because he was sure that Ashish would come back.”

The complaint was finally lodged by his manager, Vineet Chheda. The source adds that Pritam, who has a studio in the Malad area of Mumbai, “trusts the police and is cooperating with them in every possible manner to ensure the culprit is caught”.

We tried connecting with Pritam, but he remained unavailable for a comment.

On Tuesday, a person from producer Madhu Mantena’s office delivered Rs. 40 lakh in cash as payment. Pritam’s manager Vineet Chheda stored it in a trolley bag. At the time, office assistant Ashish Sayal was present. Vineet then left the studio to visit Pritam’s home. When he returned around 10.30 pm, he realized the bag was missing. He was informed that Ashish had taken the bag, claiming he was delivering the cash to Pritam’s house, but he neither reached the musician’s home nor returned to the studio.

- Vinay Dalvi