Mumbai: Music Director Pritam Chakraborty's Studio Office Boy Steals ₹40 Lakh, Goes Missing; Police Launch Manhunt

Mumbai: A theft incident occurred at Music Director Pritam Chakraborty's studio in Goregaon West on February 4. An office boy employed at the studio allegedly stole a bag containing Rs 40 lakh and fled. The Malad police registered a case against the office boy, Ashish Sayal, under Section 306 (theft by a servant of property in possession of the master) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on February 5.

According to the FIR, Chakraborty's 'Unimus Record Private Limited' studio is located in the Rustomjee Ozone building on the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, Goregaon West. On February 4, at 2 pm, an individual arrived at the studio and delivered a bag containing Rs 40 lakh on behalf of producer Madhu Mantena for work-related purposes. Chakraborty's manager, Vinit Chheda (29), placed the bag in a drawer in the presence of other staff members Ashish Sayal, Ahmad Khan, and Kamal Disha.

After securing the bag, Chheda went to the music director’s residence, which is in the same building but a different flat, to get some documents signed.

Later that evening, around 10:30 pm, Chheda discovered that the bag was missing from the drawer. He asked staff member Ahmad Khan about it, who replied that his colleague, Ashish Sayal, had taken the bag from the drawer, saying he was going to Chakraborty’s residence to deliver it. However, Chheda assumed he was joking.

When Chheda searched the studio for Sayal, he was nowhere to be found. He then tried calling him, but Sayal’s phone was switched off. Chheda and other staff members searched the vicinity of the building but couldn’t locate him.

Chheda informed Chakraborty about the situation. Since Sayal had been working with him for seven years, Chakraborty initially believed he would return and decided to wait overnight. However, when Sayal did not come back, the music director decided to approach the police.

On behalf of Chakraborty, manager Chheda filed a complaint against Sayal, following which the police registered a case and launched a search operation. The stolen bag reportedly contained 8,000 notes of Rs 500.

Pritam Chakraborty has composed several hit songs for films like Dhoom 2, Jab We Met, Life in a Metro, Bodyguard, Barfi, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Dangal, and many more.