Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari, were arrested today (December 7) in Bombay by the Rajasthan police in connection with the Rs. 30 crore fraud case filed by Dr. Ajay Murdia of the Indira Group of companies. The police took the filmmaker and his wife into custody and conducted medical examinations for both of them.
In his FIR, Dr. Murdia (who owns the Indira IVF clinic chain) accused Vikram Bhatt and eight others of cheating him of Rs. 30 crore. According to the complaint, Dr. Murdia met film producer Dinesh Katariya at an event, where Katariya proposed making a biopic on Murdia’s wife, Indira, claiming that the film would highlight her contribution to the nation. The case was registered on November 17, 2025.
On April 24, 2024, Dr. Murdia was invited to Vrindavan Studios in Bombay, where he met filmmaker Vikram 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 take care of the financing. Vikram Bhatt allegedly told Dr. Murdia that his wife, Shwetambari, and daughter, Krishna, were also involved in filmmaking and he made Shwetambari’s firm, VSB LLP, a partner in the project. A contract worth Rs. 40 crore was reportedly signed for two films.
On May 31, 2024, Dr. Murdia allegedly transferred Rs. 2.50 crore to Bhatt via RTGS. A few days later, an additional Rs. 7 crore was allegedly demanded, with claims that four films would be produced for Rs. 47 crore, potentially earning profits of Rs. 100–200 crore. Believing the assurances, Dr. Murdia made payments to the vendors provided by Bhatt and his associates.
On July 2, 2024, Dr. Murdia registered Indira Entertainment LLP and made payments worth around Rs. 3 lakh from the firm’s account. However, after several developments raised suspicion, Dr. Murdia concluded that he had been cheated and subsequently filed an FIR.
On his part, Vikram Bhatt had said that the complaint incorporated fabricated documents. “It’s obvious, something forged must have been created to convince the police. I don’t know what exactly, but there must be something,” the filmmaker had added.
Vikram further alleged that Dr. Murdia halted the film Virat before completion and failed to make pending payments. “He stopped the film midway. The technicians are still owed around Rs. 250 crore. They’ve been calling him. I believe, this is a tactic to avoid clearing dues,” he had claimed.
The FIR was registered by the Bhopalpura police of Udaipur on November 8, 2025 under sections 318(4), 316(2), 336(3), 340(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
On November 29, the Udaipur police issued a lookout notice against Vikram Bhatt, his wife and six others. All were instructed to appear before the Udaipur police by December 8 and were prohibited from travelling abroad without permission.
According to the Udaipur police, the accused prepared fake documents (bills of fake vendors) with the intention of cheating and defrauding the complainant of crores of rupees. The police explained that a plan was prepared by the accused persons to deceive the complainant, receiving funds by preparing fake bills (in the name of fake vendors), preparing documents by greatly inflating vouchers and salary vouchers compared to reality, and verifying them as true, police said The accused allegedly siphoned off approximately Rs. 30 crore from Murdia.
After Bhatt and his wife were produced in a Bombay court, the Rajasthan police sought transit remand for two days to transport the accused from Bombay to Udaipur by road for further interrogation and legal proceedings.