The Prerna Arora cheating case has taken a curious turn with the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police yesterday filing a 1,176-page charge sheet against the film producer for selling distribution rights of Kedarnath to multiple companies. This, after film producer Vashu Bhagnani complained that Prerna’s company KriArj Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. had cheated him of Rs. 31.6 crore and a First Information Report being filed.
According to the charge sheet, Prerna, her mother Pratima and partner Arjun N. Kapoor (a KriArj director) signed a deal with Gothic Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. for distribution rights of Kedarnath and PadMan and then reportedly sold Kedarnath’s distribution to Padma Ispat Pvt. Ltd. and Bhagnani’s Puja Films respectively. The EOW claimed Prerna concealed the information of dealings from all three and collected huge funds from them with fraudulent intentions.
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Arjun N. Kapoor and Prerna Arora[/caption]
The EOW revealed that Bhagnani was allegedly asked to pay Rs.10 crore for production and distribution rights of PadMan in exchange for first claim on the revenue. Similar terms were offered to him for Kedarnath. As per a contract signed, KriArj would pay Rs. 20 crore to Puja Films by April 15, 2018 failing which Puja Films would be paid from the revenue of KriArj’s next film. Sony Films was also reportedly made party to the contract.
When KriArj didn’t honour its commitment, Bhagnani learned that Gothic Entertainment was also claiming a revenue share of PadMan. The EOW arrested Prerna on December 7. She is currently lodged at the Byculla District Prison. Her mother Pratima and partner Arjun are yet to be arrested. The EOW is reportedly investigating two more criminal cases against Prerna while a fourth case is being probed by the Delhi Police.
Meanwhile, Prerna is believed to have attempted to disown the fraudulent activities of KriArj and claimed she has nothing to do with the company. However, the EOW pointed out that KriArj’s Twitter and Instagram accounts show her as one of the company’s founders. Sources claim that while a watertight case has been made against Prerna and the statements of dozens of witnesses have been taken, recovery of the money involved in the crime is unlikely as Prerna is believed to have spent it all.
