Hyderabad: Central crime station police registered a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy against the executive producers of a web series titled ‘KNOTS’ following allegations that the team had misappropriated over 4.2 crore.
In the complaint filed by Abhiyank Bhatnagar, a partner at Anaika Productions LLP, the producers were accused of breach of trust and fraud.
As per the complaint, Anaika Productions, a Hyderabad-based production company involved in movies, web series, and music albums, was approached by Gopala Murthy and Venkat Narayana Murthy, who introduced themselves as executive producers of Kahanii Collective LLP. Representing themselves as sons of Samudrala Srinivas Murthy, they proposed that Anaika Productions should co-produce KNOTS.
“They assured us that they had several projects and could deliver within six months,” Bhatnagar said in the complaint, adding that Anaika Productions entered a production service agreement with Kahanii Collective on Jan 5.
The complainant claimed that Anaika Productions initially invested 3 crore, expecting production to commence in March, but encountered delays. In the FIR, it was said that production began on May 9 and additional expenses had already been incurred.
Bhatnagar’ complaint said that Anaika Productions transferred 4.24 crore to Kahanii Collective, Buzz Makers and Infomac Balwant Media Solutions Pvt Ltd. Despite these payments, production remained incomplete, causing significant financial strain for Anaika Productions, which was unable to pay the GST amount of 24 lakh due since May.
According to the FIR, Kahanii Collective was contractually obligated to pay 12 lakh per month as compensation for delays beyond the agreed timeline. Citing delays of three months, Anaika Productions is seeking 48 lakh in penalties, plus a refund of the project funds.
The complaint mentions that Kahanii Collective made a partial compensation payment of 5.4 lakh but then stopped responding to further requests. The FIR further said that upon receiving a legal notice, Kahanii Collective partner Shalinee Gupta responded, denying her involvement and asserting she did not authorise any such transactions.
Hyderabad CCS police registered a case for criminal breach of trust, cheating and conspiracy. The case has been handed over to economic offences wing team V for probe.
