Mumbai: FIR Registered Against 'V Unbeatable' Dance Group's Manager For Cheating And Forgery After High Court Intervention

Mumbai: Nearly three months after raising a complaint and a rap from the Bombay High Court, an FIR has been registered against manager of dance troupe V Unbeatable, which recently won the ‘America’s Got Talent: The Champions’, for cheating, forgery and forgery of valuable securities and wills.

The court expressed that the police would conduct the probe “fairly and impartially”. The troupe had approached the high court, through advocate Shravan Giri, alleging that their manager Om Prakash Chauhan cheated them of their prize money and siphoned off the amount.

The DCP, crime branch of Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV), who was personally present in the court pursuant to Tuesday’s order, informed a bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan that they have registered an FIR against eight persons, including the troupe’s manager Om Prakash Chauhan.

The HC, on Tuesday, had expressed displeasure over the lackadaisical probe by the police into the complaint by the dance troupe and summoned the DCP.

State’s advocate Prajakta Shinde informed the bench, on instructions from police inspector Pramod Badakh of the crime branch, that they have initiated the departmental inquiry against Vinod Raut, whom the troupe approached with their complaint in July.

DCP informed the bench that their preliminary inquiry revealed that there is substance in the allegations. “We are inquiring. We have given him (the policeman) a letter and will now start the probe. Also registered an FIR against the persons concerned,” the ACP said. The FIR was registered on Wednesday morning.

On a court query as to why the FIR had not been registered till yesterday, DCP said they received the inquiry report yesterday, and based on that the FIR has been registered.

The court reminded the senior officer that certain aspects of the case have to be probed. DCP said that they have transferred the probe to another officer of Unit 2 of the crime branch. The HC has kept the matter for further hearing on December 2.

The plea alleged that Chauhan not only embezzled the prize money from their America’s Got Talent victory but also from nearly 300 other shows that they performed. Their plea claims that they approached the police on July 24, however, the police refused to register an FIR. Despite escalating the issue to the DCP on July 25, no action was taken by the police.