The Aarey police in Bombay on December 24 arrested line producer Ganesh Thakur from Dahisar in Bombay for allegedly submitting forged documents to obtain permission for a film shooting inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), causing a loss of Rs. 24 lakh to the forest department. The arrest followed an FIR filed by SGNP officials after they discovered fake receipts and forged seals during a routine verification. Thakur was granted police custody till December 29.
The forgery came to light on December 22 after SGNP officials approached the Aarey police station to file the complaint following scrutiny of documents submitted for filming permission. Officials noticed that receipts showing payment of Rs. 64 lakh did not match departmental records. The forest department data showed that only Rs. 39.59 lakh had been deposited. The remaining amount of Rs. 24.41 lakh was never received. According to the FIR, Thakur had sought permission to shoot in the Aarey area between November 1 and December 25, 2025, claiming to represent a production concern, R.K. Enterprises.
A site inspection by forest officials on December 4 revealed that several conditions attached to the permission were violated. When officials cross-checked the receipts, they found forged seals and serial numbers. They believe that Thakur represented other production houses too, and that he inflated government fees charged to production houses and pocketed the difference. One complaint received by the department claimed that a fake shooting permission letter was issued in the name of a production house for another project.