‘Manjummel Boys’ fraud: Police opposes bail to actor Soubin, others

Kochi: The Kerala Police has filed an affidavit in the High Court requesting it not to grant anticipatory bail to actor Soubin Shahir, his father Babu Shahir and others in a case of financial fraud, according to reports.

In the affidavit submitted by the police, they told the court that there was substantial evidence suggesting that the accused had committed deliberate financial fraud during the production of the superhit movie ‘Manjummel Boys’.

According to the case, based on a complaint filed by one Siraj of Aroor, the accused committed large-scale financial misappropriation in the name of the film’s production.

Siraj has alleged in his complaint that he had invested Rs 7 crore in the film project in the expectation of receiving profit shares. However, he did not even receive the amount he invested nor any share of the film’s profit.

Siraj accused the accused of falsely convincing him that the first schedule of the film had been completed even before the shoot began. Police argue that the mentioned alleged deception was a planned act to extract money under false pretences.

According to police, an investigation into the matter revealed that the accused inflated the production’s cost. When the producers claimed that the film cost Rs 22 crore to make, the police report states that only 18.65 crore was actually spent.

Police requested the court to allow them to take the accused into custody in order to question them, which is necessary to trace the financial flow and determine whether investors were misled.

Earlier, the high court had rejected the accused’s plea to dismiss the case entirely.