Two booked for duping aspiring TV actor of ₹4.29 lakh

Versova police in Mumbai booked 2 casting producers for duping an aspiring actor of ₹4.29 lakh by promising a lead role in a TV serial.

Mumbai: The Versova police on Saturday booked two casting producers of the Hindi television industry for allegedly duping an aspiring actor of ₹4.29 lakh by luring him with the offer of a lead role in a daily soap on a popular TV channel.

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The aspiring actor, identified as Nishant Singh, 29, had set his photographs and audition tapes to several production houses. On May 28, he allegedly received a call from a casting producer, identifying himself as Abhay Kapoor, who asked him to send an audition byte on his WhatsApp number.

After Singh sent the audition tape, he got a call from Kapoor and one Sneha Sharma who told him he had been selected for the lead role in a television serial named ‘Dil Ko Tumse Pyaar Hua’ to be aired on a leading television channel. After Singh agreed to sign the contract, the two casting producers asked him to pay them the production admission amount. From May 28 to July 8, Singh paid ₹4.29 lakh for costumes and other things.

On Saturday, when Singh failed to get the contract and all his calls remained answered, he approached the Versova police. He registered a cheating case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). “We are tracing the two people who told Singh that they were casting producers,” said a police officer from Versova police station.