Film producer’s ‘plot’ finally busted after two-year run

BENGALURU: For over two years, a 29-year-old man who is said to have produced one Kannada film and directed another, allegedly cheated prospective home buyers by promising them lower rates. He managed to collect up to Rs 2 crore by allegedly fleecing his victims this way until his luck ran out on Thursday. He was caught red-handed while demanding more money from one of his victims.

The Mahalakshmi Layout police on Thursday arrested the ‘film producer’ Hari Prasad alias Sriharsha alias Harivardhan — a resident of Basaveshwaranagar, against whom several complaints had been filed by his victims at the Banaswadi, CK Achchukattu, Vidhana Soudha and Madiwala police stations.

The police said Prasad claimed to be an officer in the Housing Board and cheated several people including businessmen, realtors and even widows, many of who are complainants. However, despite a series of complaints, Prasad had managed to dodge the law for over two years.A senior police officer said, Prasad was arrested based on a complaint by Ganesh Hegde, an astrologer. He was caught red-handed when he approached Hegde to collect the second instalment in Mahalakshmi Layout. 

Hegde had paid about Rs 2 lakh as application fee while Prasad demanded Rs 4 lakh to proceed with getting him a site. After paying the first tranche, Hegde realised that he was being cheated and approached the police on December 24.
 

Conman wooed victims with his ‘high-level’ contacts: Cops

A senior police officer said that Prasad allegedly impressed his victims by convincing them that he had contacts with senior officials in the Housing Board. He reportedly even pretended to speak to them over the phone in the presence of his victims while collecting money from them. He is also known to have showed his victims photos of him with several film actors and politicians, who he claimed to have helped get sites in various locations in the city.

The victims have alleged that Prasad sent fake messages to the victims while ‘updating’ them about their ‘application’ status and the victims assumed these to be authentic, sent to them by the Housing Board. 
The police, citing the victims’ complaints, said that Prasad had also introduced himself as an assistant executive engineer in the Public Works Department (PWD) and had showed some film posters to convince them about his film-making career. 

A police officer said Prasad claimed to have produced a film ‘Rajangu Raanigu’, which is yet to be launched, while claiming to have directed another film called ‘Kaliyugada Kamsa’. However, his name does not figure anywhere on the posters.