Filmstars took money from conman for film, says accused

Names of two filmstars, Kiran Kumar and Hitendra Kuma, have cropped in the Ashok Jadeja scam. The names were revealed during the interrogation of one Kalyan Rathod who has been arrested by the investigating agency CID (Crime).

According to sources, Rathod was acting as a financier for the film titled 'Jai Madi' which was to be made by Jadeja. Sources said that Rathod has told the police that Kalyan along with one Rajesh Patel and Ashok Jadeja had left to meet actor Kiran Kumar on May 8 in Mumbai. Rathod has also stated that the trio met Kiran Kumar who said that a Gujarati film would only be made at a cost of Rs50 lakh. Kiran Kumar also told them that he would take Rs5 lakh to play a part in the film. He had also demanded Rs2 lakh as an advance.

Another famous actor Hitendra Kumar was also given Rs50,000 to act in the film. The filming of the movie was however stalled when the Jadeja scam was exposed. Officials said that Rs4.5 lakh had been recovered from Rathod. DySP RK Patel of CID (Crime) said that the statements of the stars will be taken. Sources said that the name of one famous singer is also likely to crop up during investigation.