Dance troupe claims manager cheated them of ₹12 crore in shocking scandal |

Mumbai: A day later Bombay High Court expressed its dissatisfaction at the delay in conducting a preliminary investigation into complaints of cheating made by members of a dance group against their manager, Omprakash ChauhanThe Mira Road police registered an FIR in the case on Wednesday. The complaint names Chauhan and five others, including choreographer-director Remo D’Souza, his production house and police officer Vinod Raut, for alleged cheating and forgery totaling around Rs 12 crore. V Unbeatablegained recognition after winning the ‘Best Talent in the World’ award during Season 2 of America’s Got Talent – The Champions.
The petitioners, comprising 28 dancers in their twenties from the slums of Bhayander, sought registration of an FIR, mainly against Chauhan (34), who allegedly pocketed their income from events, including America’s Got Talent, for over six years. had received his personal bill. The dancers estimate the amount at around Rs 12 crore for 250 shows. They claimed to have received only Rs 2.4 crore.
Veer Narottam (26), member of the group and complainant, stated that Chauhan gradually became their manager, although no formal agreement was signed. The dancers claimed that they realized that they were not being adequately compensated by Chauhan. They alleged that they did not receive the promised payments from Chauhan or Frames Production House for their participation in the reality show Dance Plus in 2018. The complainant stated that Remo D’Souza’s production house acquired intellectual property rights and an NOC from the group, whereby the dancers promised Rs. 50 lakh after completing a film on it. However, the signing amount of over Rs 5 lakh that Chauhan received was not shared with the dancers.
The complaint further alleged that Chauhan retained the bulk of the cash prize of over Rs 2 crore won on the America’s Got Talent Show and registered the trademark V Unbeatable in his name on January 25, 2019. Narotttam claimed that he also noticed that Chauhan claimed to be a Nepali citizen but traveled to the US on an Indian passport. Moreover, Chauhan allegedly forged documents to transfer money to the account of Ramesh Gupta, who was falsely presented as the father of late dancer Vikas. Choreographer Rohit Yadav (36) was also named in the complaint.
In July, when the dancers and their families confronted Chauhan at his Mira Road office, constable Raut, then posted at Navghar police station, allegedly assaulted and threatened the dancers. Videos of the attack were presented in the Supreme Court.