Mumbai: Khar police on Wednesday registered a case of impersonation and identity theft against an unknown person who created a fake Instagram account of film director Vikas Bahl, used it lure many women with the promise of work in films, misbehaved with them and pushed them into sharing their photos under the pretext of auditions.

Police are tracking the internet protocol address used to create the account. "The accused also claimed to be the CEO of an OTT platform," said a Khar police officer.

In his police complaint, Bahl said he had raised a complaint with Instagram about another fake account in October 2024 that was being used to call people for auditions for a web series on an OTT platform. That account was later taken down. In September this year, he was alerted to another such account by a friend in Delhi.

As per Bahl's complaint, he got a call on November 15 from a woman who said she had received multiple messages for an audition for a web series film from a man who claimed to be the filmmaker. "She said she got suspicious after she met him at a Ghatkopar mall on November 12. Later, the man asked her to share a photo of herself in a bikini. She then realised that it was an imposter," said the complaint.

The officer said on November 28, Bahl learnt that another woman had been called for an audition through the Instagram account. She told him that she met the accused on November 19 at a restaurant in Dadar and assumed that it was someone who was part of the industry network.

"However, the accused asked her to meet him on November 26 in Powai with her bank account details to sign an agreement for a web series. While travelling in a cab, he touched her inappropriately. She reprimanded him, grew suspicious of his identity and eventually got in touch with Bahl's personal assistant," said the officer. He then approached police.