Filmmaker Alleges Cheating In Doordarshan Project: PIB Media Assistant, 3 Others Named In Chargesheet

New Delhi: The Delhi police have filed a chargesheet against 4 people in connection with an alleged cheating, impersonation and conspiracy case involving purported production opportunities under Prasar Bharati’s Direct Assignment Process (DAP) policy. The case centres on Mumbai-based filmmaker Bhavesh Parmar’s allegation that he was induced to pay money after being offered work connected with Doordarshan.

According to the chargesheet filed before the Saket court, the case originated from a meeting at Soochna Bhawan. As per the allegations by the complainant, he was allegedly informed that his project could be submitted under the DAP policy. Following the assurance, money was allegedly collected through multiple bank transactions between August and November 2022 against assurances of registration and budgetary approvals for a proposed 26-episode series.

The police investigation has alleged involvement of 4 persons, including individuals who purportedly posed as the officials linked to government media bodies to facilitate the process, while also examining the role of a 5th person who has not been chargesheeted at this stage. The probe has flagged alleged parallel proposals filed under the DAP system using proxy names to displace the original producer. 

Based on WhatsApp chats, bank statements and official replies obtained from Prasar Bharati, PIB, EMMC and NFDC, the police have booked the accused under Sections 419, 420 and 120B IPC for cheating, impersonation and criminal conspiracy, and listed bank managers and officials from central media bodies as witnesses as the matter now moves to trial.

The chargesheet names Prem Kumar, Leepika Mallick, Ashish Kumar Sahu and Amit Kumar as accused under Sections 419, 420 and 120B of the IPC. The police have also listed Kishan Kumar as a person not charge-sheeted at this stage. The FIR was registered at Lodhi Colony police station on May 30 in the year 2024.

As per the chargesheet, the investigation, led by Sub-Inspector (SI) Deepak Yadav, examined the complainant’s statements, WhatsApp conversations, bank transactions and documents relating to the DAP process. The police have relied on official replies obtained from Prasar Bharati, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC), NFDC and other departments, besides interrogation reports and banking records.

Alleged DAP Opportunity And Money Transfers

According to the chargesheet, Bhavesh Parmar was introduced to Prem Kumar through Kishan Chauhan and subsequently met him at Soochna Bhawan. Prem allegedly discussed an upcoming production opportunity through Doordarshan and informed Bhavesh that his proposed project could be submitted under the DAP policy.

The police records stated that Prem allegedly sought documents for the application and shared bank details for payments. The complainant was allegedly told that Leepika Mallick was a Media Advisor at the PIB and was handling the registration-related process.

The investigation records showed that Bhavesh transferred Rs 5,00,001 to Leepika Mallick’s bank account through multiple transactions between August and October 2022. A further Rs 1 lakh was transferred to Amit Kumar’s bank account through 4 transactions in November 2022. Notably, the chargesheet includes the corresponding bank statements as evidence.

The police also examined an alleged production proposal, with the complainant allegedly being informed about a budget of Rs 20 lakh per episode. The chargesheet records allegations that commissions and other payments were sought during the process.

Police Flag Parallel DAP Proposals

An important part of the investigation concerns proposals submitted under the DAP system. As per the chargesheet, Prasar Bharati records showed that an original proposal was submitted in the name of Ashish Kumar instead of BLMO founder-director Bhavesh Parmar. It also referred to separate proposals involving different production, allegedly submitted using the names and contact details of Leepika Mallick and Ashish Kumar.

In the conclusion, the police state that the Prasar Bharati reply “conclusively proves” that the two parallel proposals were systematically used to misrepresent the authority of the committee and, under the DAP policy, to displace the actual director and submit or convert projects fraudulently.

The chargesheet also recorded police analysis of WhatsApp conversations in which the accused allegedly discussed project documents, budgets, proposals, production requirements and payments. The cops seized a pen drive containing WhatsApp chats supplied by the complainant and examined screenshots and other supporting documents.

In the chargesheet, it is mentioned that during the investigation, the police issued notices to several government and broadcasting authorities. A PIB reply stated that Leepika Mallick had worked as a Media Assistant in the Coordination Division during the relevant period and was involved in coordinating with regional and headquarters offices for print-publicity-related work.

The police also examined the DAP proposal and related records supplied by Prasar Bharati. The final report contained interrogation reports of the accused, statements and screenshots provided by Bhavesh, bank records and official correspondence.

Further details in the case are awaited.