Uttarakhand ex-CM’s daughter Aarushi Nishank accuses Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan producer of cheating her of Rs 4 cr

An FIR has been lodged at Kotwali police station in Dehradun against the producers of Vikrant Massey-Shanaya Kapoor starrer Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan – Mansi Bagla and Varun Bagla – by Aarushi Nishank, daughter of former Uttarakhand CM and ex-minister for human resource development in the Narendra Modi cabinet, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

Aarushi alleged that she was cheated by the accused of Rs. 4 crores after being promised a role in the upcoming Bollywood movie.

The complaint states that Aarushi Nishank met Mansi Bagla and Varun Bagla and they asked her to invest Rs. 5 crores in Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan. In return, they promised her a significant role in the film and also a profit.

Accordingly, on October 9, 2024, a MOU was signed between Aarushi’s company Himshree Films and Mini Films, run by Mansi Bagla and Varun Bagla.

Aarushi then paid Rs. 2 crores on October 10, Rs. 25 lakhs on October 27, Rs. 75 lakhs on October 30 and Rs. 1 crore on November 1.

Further, Aarushi Nishank made the allegation that she was intimidated by threats of defamation and extortion and that Mansi Bagla and Varun Bagla made derogatory comments about her Garhwali background.

Mansi Bagla and Varun Bagla have been booked under section 308(5) (extortion by putting someone in fear of death or grievous hurt), section 318(4) (cheating and fraud), section 336(3) (forgery with intent to cheat), section 338 (forgery of valuable documents), section 340(2) (using forged documents as genuine), section 351(3) (criminal intimidation by threatening death or grievous hurt), section 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and section 61(2) (criminal conspiracy).