5 booked for cheating music academy owner of Rs 35.50 lakh

Police have registered a case against against five persons, including three from Gujarat, for alleged cheating the owner of a music academy in Maharashtra’s Thane city of Rs 35.50 lakh, an official said.
The accused gave the victim a work order in 2021 for the production of a web series and agreed to make a payment of Rs 22 lakh for five episodes, the official from Kasarvadavli police station said quoting the complaint.  The accused also allegedly took Rs 13.50 lakh from the victim for the marketing of their company, he said. After completion of the web series, as agreed, in June 2022, when the victim sought payment for it and the money he had lent to them, the accused gave evasive replies and did not give him any money, the police said.
The victim filed a complaint, based on which the police on Monday registered offences against the five accused — three from Bhavnagar in Gujarat and two from Mira Road in Thane — under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention), the official said.