Mumbai: Four kidnap serial producer to make him pay dues

The accused locked the victim in a bungalow and forced him to sign a blank stamp paper

The Malwani police have arrested four accused, including an ex-producer-director along with three production unit members of a comedy TV serial Chulbuli Chachi for allegedly kidnapping one of the serial's producers. They locked him up for six hours in the shooting bungalow and forced him to write on a stamp paper that he would pay all the outstanding dues of the unit members and actors.

The police have registered a case and arrested four accused – the producer and director Ashok Yadav and three production control unit members Tejas Lone, Satish Jha and Ashfaq Pathan.

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According to police sources, Sachin Shinde, 38, has acted in several Marathi plays and TV serials. As the pandemic halted the shooting of Chulbuli Chachi, the producers were looking for a new financier. Shinde expressed his desire to produce it and tied up with Yadav to continue shooting under the banner of his company Sumangalam Production from June this year.

Apparently, as the first production house was yet to pay R10 lakh to the staff and actors, Shinde himself gave the amount to Ashok and Lone so they could pay the dues of the artistes and the shooting could continue.

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"Yadav and Lone allegedly kept the money to themselves and when the staff and actors asked for their dues, they told them to ask Shinde. Later, Yadav and Lone hatched a plan with Jha and Pathan to kidnap Shinde. They released him after getting him to sign a blank sheet of stamp paper and threatened to kill him if he was seen in Mumbai," said an officer.

Victim Sachin Shinde

The scared producer then fled to his native village, Daund in Pune. It was only on his family's urging that he returned to Mumbai and lodged a complaint at Malwani police station on Saturday.

"On Shinde's complaint, we have registered a case against the four accused," said ACP Dilip Yadav.

When mid-day got in touch with Shinde for a comment, he replied, "I am not in a position to say anything."

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