Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, wife arrested

Dishank Purohit & Ahmed Ali | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; December 8, 2025)

Jaipur/Mumbai: Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt were arrested from Mumbai early Sunday in a Rs 30-crore fraud case registered in Udaipur last month.

Udaipur-based IVF specialist Dr Ajay Murdia, founder of Indira IVF, had filed a complaint a month ago alleging that Bhatt, his wife and six others induced him to invest over Rs 30 crore to make a biopic on his late wife. He alleged that he was promised high earnings, but nothing materialised.

Bhatt has denied the allegations, claiming the police were "misguided". Last week, Udaipur police had issued a lookout notice for Bhatt and his wife. Their daughter Krishna Bhatt is also named in the FIR.

Sources said an Udaipur police team coordinated with the Mumbai police and arrested the couple from the residence of Bhatt's sister in Andheri. They were produced before a holiday magistrate in Mumbai. "The Udaipur team came with an arrest warrant. The magistrate permitted the police to take them to Rajasthan on two days' transit remand," a Mumbai police officer said. Udaipur SP Yogesh Goyal told TOI they would be brought to the city.

The cops are scrutinising agreements, bank transactions, and communications linked to the alleged investment based on the FIR registered at Bhupalpura police station on Nov 8. Besides the couple, the others named in the FIR include their associates Mehboob Ansari and Dinesh Kataria, an Udaipur resident.

Two of the suspects — Ansari and vendor Sandeep Vishwanath — were arrested from Mumbai on Nov 17. Police are searching for Kataria who allegedly facilitated the deal.
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HINDUSTAN TIMES (December 8, 2025)

Udaipur: Rajasthan Police on Sunday arrested filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari from Mumbai in connection with an alleged Rs. 30 crore fraud case involving an Udaipur-based businessman, police officers aware of the details said.

“The arrest was made from Ganga Bhavan Apartments in Yari Road area, which is said to be the residence of Bhatt’s sister-in-law,” Udaipur superintendent of police Yogesh Goyal said. “The police will now apply for a transit remand in Bandra Court to bring him to Udaipur for further investigation”.

The two have been arrested in connection with a case registered on November 17 based on a complaint filed against eight people by Ajay Murdia, owner of Indira Group of Companies.

According to the complaint, Murdia met film producer Dinesh Katariya at an event, where the latter proposed making a biopic on the former’s wife, claiming that the film would highlight her contribution to the nation.

In April 2024, Murdia was invited to Vrindavan Studio in Mumbai, where he met Bhatt. During the meeting, both parties reportedly agreed to make the biopic, and it was decided that Bhatt would handle the entire filmmaking process while Murdia would only provide financing, Goyal said.

According to Goyal, a contract worth Rs. 40 crore was reportedly signed for two films titled “Biopic” and “Maharana”. From May 2024 to June 2025, Murdia paid Bhatt and vendors linked to the alleged projects on multiple occasions, with the total money amounting to ₹30 crore.

However, after the accused stopped responding to his emails earlier this year, Murdia concluded that he had been cheated and subsequently filed a complaint on November 8.

Bhatt and seven others have been booked under sections 318 (cheating), 316 (criminal breach of trust), 336 (forgery) and others of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).