V-Unbeatable cheating case: HC slams MBVV police for tardy investigation

Hindustan Times

a day ago

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday rapped the Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police, stating that the senior officers adopted a 'calculated way' to defend their juniors. This came in response to the cheating accusations made by the dance group, Vikas Unbeatable, renowned for winning America's Got Talent, against their manager.
The troupe had approached the high court through advocate Shravan Giri, alleging that no action was taken by the police on their complaint against their manager, Om Prakash Chauhan, for alleged embezzlement of funds.
Their plea claimed that the MBVV police refused to file an FIR against Chauhan when they first approached them on July 24, 2024. No action was taken after escalating the matter to the DCP on July 25. The petition also highlighted that when the group members, along with their parents and guardians, went to demand their dues, police officers at the scene used 'criminal force' against them.
Public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar stated that the matter has been looked into and as a result of it, the then Investigating officer was exonerated. A report was filed by the assistant commissioner of police on January 23, 2025, which contained 22 points as regards the conduct of the officer. He further stated that a fresh enquiry shall be conducted against the officer by an officer not below the rank of additional commissioner of police, Mira-Bhayandar, which shall be completed within a period of six weeks.
In response to these submissions, advocate Shravan Giri, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that all the relevant material in support of the 22 points shall be submitted to the office of the additional commissioner of police within a period of two weeks. 'Needless to clarify that the period for completion of enquiry being six weeks shall be reckoned from the date of the petitioner submitting the relevant document and material in support of his contention against the officer,' he added.
The division bench of justices Nitin Sambre and Sachin Deshmukh discarded the report of the assistant commissioner of police, observing that the 22 points were not looked into and dealt with in the Enquiry Report. It directed the authorities to make the enquiry report available to the petitioner by July 31, highlighting that the petitioner shall have every right to question the report and the adverse conduct of the police inspector, who had earlier acted as an Investigating Officer in the matter.
The dance group, which first gained fame as the runner-up on the reality show 'Dance Plus,' claimed that they never received the prize money or performance fees. The dancers stated that they only received meagre payments ranging from ₹3,000 to ₹5,000, even though during their 60-day stay in the United States for America's Got Talent, they were supposed to receive a $25 ( ₹2,084) daily allowance.
Subsequently, with no visible progress in the investigation, the case was transferred to the Economic Offence Wing (EOW). After the inquiry was conducted, the court found out that the authorities did not address the troupe's grievances properly.