Vikram Bhatt and wife Shwetambari sent to judicial custody in ₹30 crore fraud case; bail on medical grounds denied

After staying in remand for seven days, Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari, applied for interim bail on medical grounds.

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife, Shwetambari, were remanded to seven days' police custody by a court in Udaipur on December 9 in connection with an alleged ₹30 crore fraud case. On Tuesday, the couple’s lawyer requested that interim bail be granted on medical grounds. However, the court sent them to judicial custody.

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt appears before the Udaipur Court for allegedly cheating a doctor of ₹30 Crore, in Udaipur on Tuesday. (ANI )

Vikram Bhatt and wife apply interim bail

Advocate Manzoor Hussain told ANI, “The lawyer for the accused presented an application for interim bail, requesting that it be granted on medical grounds. If interim bail is granted before the court session ends, both individuals could be released for a short period to receive medical treatment. Everything depends on the court's order.”

However, later in the day, DSP Suryaveer Singh told the news agency, “The court has ordered to keep them in judicial custody. They will now be sent to the Central Jail in Udaipur.”

The ₹30 crore alleged fraud case

Vikram and his wife were arrested in Mumbai on December 7 and taken to Udaipur by the police, where they were produced before the court the next day. On December 9, they were remanded to seven days’ police custody. Vikram, his wife, and six others are accused of defrauding Udaipur-based Dr Ajay Murdia, founder of Indira Group of Companies, of ₹30 crore.

An official told PTI, “Murdia, owner of Indira IVF Hospital, wanted to make a biopic on his late wife. He has alleged that he was promised earnings of ₹200 crore. But nothing materialised, after which Murdia approached Bhopalpura police station in Udaipur, where an FIR was registered for cheating and other offences.”

An FIR that was lodged on November 17 accused them of siphoning off more than ₹30 crore by giving false assurances of film production and profits. Police said that the fraud was committed through fake bills generated by the accused.