Mumbai man nabbed in Chandigarh for duping wannabe actors

Chandigarh (IANS)- A Mumbai man has been arrested here for duping nearly 25 wannabe TV and film actors of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of giving them roles in serials, movies and commercials of leading banners, police said Friday.

Sanjay Misra, who owns Tun-Tun promotions and Coordination Services in Mumbai, gave an advertisement in local newspapers and invited young aspirants from Punjab and Haryana for auditions a few days ago, police said.

"We arrested Misra from a hotel in Sector 22 where he was conducting interviews and auditions late Thursday. He had selected some candidates and told them to submit a refundable security amount," Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagbir Singh said.

"Nearly a dozen people from different towns of Punjab and Haryana complained to us against him after reading his latest advertisement. We laid a trap and arrested him. There is a possibility that many more people are involved in this racket," Singh said.

Misra had promised the complainants roles in films and serials and had taken Rs.25,000-Rs.250,000 from them. This time also, he had shortlisted 12 candidates and taken Rs.10,000-Rs.25,000 as security amount from them.

"We came in contact with Misra in 2008 through a newspaper advertisement. He promised a role for our one-year-old daughter in a children's movie 'My Summer Vacation'. We signed a contract and submitted a refundable security of Rs.25,000," Ramneek, a complainant from neighbouring Panchkula town, told IANS.

"Misra told us that shooting will go on for 40 days and our daughter will get a remuneration of Rs.2,000-3,000 per day. But no shooting has happened till date," she said.

"He gave us two cheques, amounting to Rs.25,000, but they bounced. Then he stopped answering our calls," Ramneek added.

Police sources said Misra also took some gullible youngsters from the region to Mumbai. He took them to various studios, shooting sites and auditioned them before sending them back.