Police: TV staffer gets 33 lakhs from Kannada director

A Kannada serial director has been cheated of Rs 33 lakh by a senior employee of a television channel, situated on Rhenius Street in Richmond Town.

The JP Nagar police have taken up a cheating case and identified the suspect as Chandan Yadav (45), the marketing head of the channel, who according to the police remains elusive.

The victim, Naveen Roy, had approached several big names in the television industry to get a prime-time slot for his comedy serial ‘Athe Hange, Sose Hinge’.

When Naveen approached Udaya TV office in Chennai for the same in August 2016, it gave a contact of Yadav, who worked for a renowned television news channel in Bengaluru.

Naveen later got in touch with Yadav for his inquiries on the slot.

Yadav claiming to be an influential person in the media industry, promised Naveen the prime-time slots on the channel.

Yadav then started collecting lakhs of rupees from Naveen and asked him to start shooting for his serial.

Naveen began producing and directing the serial and roped in several artists.

As the serial was ready for the telecast, Naveen contacted Yadav, who asked him to be patient and wait. By the time, Yadav had already made Naveen cough up around Rs 32 lakh and an iPhone.

When Naveen could not get the slot, he demanded his money back to which Yadav gave lame excuses and sometimes did not even respond to his calls.

On April 21, Naveen approached the police and registered a case.

Further investigations are underway.