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FIR against Punjabi filmmaker Vikram Dhillon for not paying ₹18,000 to dhaba owner
The case has been registered after five years of investigation; Vikram Dhillon and his crew were allegedly shooting in Ludhiana in 2017; the crew used to frequent the complainant’s dhaba, before leaving Dhillon handed over four checks to the complainant and asked to not encash one of it; dhaba owner later found that Dhillon had already cancelled it.
Mullanpur Dakha police booked noted producer, director and actor Vikram Dhillon for fraud as he allegedly failed to pay ₹18,000 to a dhaba owner against the food his crew consumed at the eatery during the shooting of a Punjabi movie in 2017.
The FIR has been registered after five years of investigation.
Rahul Kumar, the owner of Pandtan da Dhaba of Mullanpur Dakha, said that Dhillon, along with his crew, had visited Mullanpur Dakha and nearby locations for shooting a movie in 2017. The crew used to consume three meals from his dhaba daily.
Kumar said that Dhillon had issued four cheques for payment but asked him not to encash the fourth one, amounting ₹18,000. Kumar agreed and Dhillon promised that he would take the cheque back after making the payment in cash.
“I trusted him and did not deposit the cheque. The director, along with his crew, then left the place. Later, they stopped replying to my phone calls,” said the dhaba owner.
“After repeated attempts to contact Dhillon, I finally deposited the cheque but was shocked to know that the filmmaker had already stopped payment against the cheque,” said the complainant.
Kumar said that on July 13, 2017, he filed a complaint to the then senior superintendent of police (SSP), who marked an inquiry to superintendent of police (investigation). After more than five years, the police lodged the FIR.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Baljit Singh, the investigating officer, said the case against Dhillon has been lodged under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. Police will summon the accused to join investigation.
Dhillon had worked as an VJ for Channel V. He also has to his credit Punjabi feature film ‘Pinky Moge Wali’, and web series ‘The Great Punjabi Luv Shuv Story’, which was streamed on Ekta Kapoor’s digital platform AltBalaji. He has also directed and produced a feature film Ji Karda.
