Kapil Sharma files FIR against designer Dilip Chhabria for allegedly duping him of Rs 5.7 cr

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Mumbai Police are in the process of filing a case of misappropriation and cheating against car designer Dilip Chhabria over a complaint lodged against him by comedian Kapil Sharma a few months back for allegedly duping him to the tune of Rs 5.30 crore, which he had paid for manufacturing a vanity bus, an official said. Chhabria was arrested last week, after the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of Mumbai police unearthed a major DC Avanti car financing and forgery scam.

"Comedian Kapil Sharma on Thursday visited Mumbai Police Commissioner''s Office in South Mumbai and lodged his complaint against Dilip Chhabria Designs Pvt Ltd," the official said.

Based on the complaint, the police are in the process of registering an offence of criminal misappropriation and cheating against Chhabria, he said.

After meeting senior officials at the CP office, Sharma went to the CIU to record his statement.

"As per the complaint, Sharma had paid Rs 5.30 crore to Chhabria''s DC Designs Private Limited company between March and May 2017 for manufacturing a vanity bus, but there was not any progress in it," said Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).

After the GST regime came into effect in 2018, DC Designsdemanded Rs 40 lakh more from Sharma, which the comedian paid, he said, adding that even after making the payment, the bus was not ready.

"In 2019, Sharma then approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and after a preliminary inquiry, the tribunal froze the bank accounts of DC Designs," he said.

After that, Chhabria again approached Sharma and told him that he would manufacture the vanity bus only if he pays Rs 60 lakh more. However, Sharma refused to pay the amount, the official said.

DC Designs then sent a bill of about Rs 12-13 lakh to Sharma for parking the vanity bus''s chassis, engine and half- built vehicle in their premises, he said.

"Thereafter, Sharma approached the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police in September 2020 and registered a complaint against DC Designs and preliminary enquiry in the case was on," he said.

"The final decision about the complaint was taken today and we are in the process of registering a separate case of misappropriation and cheating against Chhabria," said the senior police officer.

Meanwhile, before leaving the CP office premises, Kapil Sharma told reporters that he was there to record his statement in connection with his complaint.

"The person against whom I had filed a complaint has already been already arrested by the police in a different case," he said.

The CIU had unearthed the DC Avanti car financing and forgery scam. During the probe of the car financing racket, it was revealed that loans averaging Rs 42 lakh per car were availed by DC Designs Pvt Ltd for DC Avanti cars manufactured by it in the name of bogus customers.

As many as 120 DC Avanti cars have been sold in India and abroad, and at least 90 of them were allegedly used for obtaining loans fraudulently.