Mumbai Police have booked Manish Trehan, the producer of the popular web series Jamtara, for allegedly defrauding a Khar-based businessman, Nihar L, of Rs 2.5 crore. The complaint states that Trehan took the money from Nihar under the pretext of business expansion and financing a film project, which he claimed would be featured on Amazon Prime, according to a report in Indian Express.com.
Nihar, a 40-year-old businessman who runs a finance service firm, met Trehan in October 2022 through a mutual contact. As per the FIR, Trehan, introducing himself as the director of the advertising editing company Click On RM Pvt Ltd, promised to return the money within a year, along with interest. In trusting this assurance, Nihar transferred Rs 2 crore to Trehan for business expansion via an online transaction.
When the one-year term ended in October 2023, Trehan visited Nihar’s office, accompanied by a man named Satvant Singh, who Trehan introduced as a senior official from a renowned OTT platform. Upon asking for repayment, Trehan told Nihar that the money had been invested in a film, claiming it was nearly complete, with only editing work left to finish. Trehan further asked Nihar for an additional Rs 50 lakh to cover these final costs, promising that the film would be sold to the OTT platform soon, and the money would be returned.
Trusting Trehan’s word, Nihar transferred an additional Rs 50 lakh on October 5, 2023. This time, Trehan provided a written loan agreement, acknowledging the Rs 2.5 crore loan, and issued four post-dated cheques as assurance, to be cashed by March 31, 2024.
However, when Nihar attempted to deposit the cheques, they were declined as Trehan had placed a stop payment order. After multiple failed attempts to contact Trehan, who allegedly blocked Nihar’s calls, the businessman approached senior police officials to register a complaint.
The Santacruz police have now booked Trehan and Singh under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 34 (common intention). Nihar also accused Trehan’s wife of involvement, though her name is absent from the FIR.
Trehan’s lawyer, Shivam Deshmukh, disputed the claims, stating that Trehan had already repaid a portion of the loan amount and alleged that Nihar and his father had coerced Trehan to make an immediate cash payment of Rs 1.6 crore. Deshmukh insists that Trehan has cooperated with authorities and claims the FIR was filed to meet Nihar’s unlawful demands.
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