Bandra Police Book Hiren Bhagat, Associates For Allegedly Cheating Former Executive Of ₹7.99 Crore

Mumbai: The Bandra police have registered an FIR against Hiren alias Romi Bhagat and his associates for allegedly cheating a former company executive of ₹7.99 crore under the pretext of settling Goods and Services Tax (GST) liabilities. No arrests have been made so far in the case, police confirmed.

FIR filed over alleged fraud

The complainant, Amit Tipnis, 50, a resident of Dadar East and former country manager at BWW Global Pvt Ltd, alleged that Bhagat and his associate Akash Gupta gained his trust by offering legal and other assistance regarding the company's outstanding GST dues.

According to the FIR, Tipnis stated that BWW Global's business shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, leaving him to face company liabilities of approximately ₹11 crore.

Through advocate Prakash Nichani, he was introduced to Bhagat and Gupta on September 6, 2023. The duo allegedly advised him to file a complaint in Guwahati against the company's overall in-charge, Sachin Adhikari, and promised to help settle the GST cases.

Alleged money transfers

Tipnis further alleged that after Bhagat's arrest in January 2024 in an unrelated matter, Bhagat pressured him to transfer settlement money to accounts specified by Gupta.

Gupta allegedly threatened to have Tipnis's bank account frozen through his contacts in the GST department. Subsequently, GST officials froze Tipnis's Axis Bank account in Vashi.

Believing their assurances that the GST and VAT liabilities would be settled without requiring full payment, Tipnis transferred about ₹8 crore to various accounts as directed.

He also paid chartered accountant Pujan Parmar a professional fee of ₹5 lakh on June 29, 2024.

Complaint filed after alleged threats

The complainant alleged that his repeated follow-ups since August 2024 received no substantive response.

During a meeting at a Hotel in Worli on March 13, 2025, Bhagat allegedly threatened him, saying, "You did well to transfer all the money, otherwise today you would have been sitting in Guwahati Central Jail."

After Gupta allegedly blocked his telephone number in early February, Tipnis approached the police, claiming that the promised GST settlement had not been completed and expressing fears for his safety.

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Police investigate case

However, a special court had granted Bhagat bail in July 2024 in a money-laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate linked to travel company Cox and Kings. The court had observed at the time that there were reasonable grounds to believe he was not guilty of that offence.

Police are currently investigating the case and efforts are on to apprehend the accused. Further details are awaited.

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