Punjabi film producer, 2 brothers arrested for fraud in Mumbai

The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested a Punjabi film producer, who was allegedly on the run, and his two brothers from Mumbai.  The police said the producer, identified as Gaurav Sethi (35), had escaped from custody in 2014. He was arrested for various fraud cases, they added. The accused’s brothers have been identified as Vikram Sethi (36) and Manish Sethi (40). The  police had declared a reward of Rs 25,000 on their arrest of the trio. Gaurav had produced two Punjabi films in 2008 and 2011.

The police said Gaurav was arrested in 2014 in cases related to fraud and cheating. He was produced before a city court and was remanded to judicial custody. While he was being escorted to the Tihar Jail in a police van, the constable, escorting him, stopped the vehicle near the DDA Market at Jail Road to fetch food for Gaurav. His brothers Vikram and Manish reached there and requested the constable to allow them to get Gaurav’s signature of on the vakalatnama. The constable gave in to their request, after which Gaurav pushed him and fled with his brothers in two cars.

The Crime Branch had been trying to trace the location of Gaurav and his two brothers for months. According to the police, the trio frequently changed their locations and had even changed their identities. The police learnt that Gaurav and his brothers were living in Mumbai on fake identities. A raid was conducted and the trio was arrested.

Gaurav was born and brought up in the Karol Bagh area here. His father was in timber business. He studied up to Class 12 from Harcourt Butler School and enrolled to the Khalsa College for graduation. However, he dropped after completing the first year of college. 

Thereafter, he did some odd works. In 2001, he worked with the Standard Chartered Bank in the verification department. In 2003, he opened an office in Rohini in the name of ‘GS Builder’. He would assist clients in getting loans from various banks such as Dena Bank, Punjab National bank, Bank of Maharastra, etc. Later, he would allegedly forge his clients’ documents and take loan on bogus properties. He used to take a handsome commission and bought several properties. He earlier ran casinos in Mariott, Panaji (Goa), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Nepal. 

Soon, he started vying for Bollywood fame and wanted to lead a lifestyle like those of celebrities. In 2008, he produced a Punjabi film ‘Watno-Dur’, starring popular Punjabi actors. The film was shot in Mauritius. In 2011, he produced another Punjabi film. But it could not be released due to some problems with the distributor.