Bihar cadre IPS officer Amit Lodha, who rose to prominence following the release of the web series 'Khakee: The Bihar Chapter,' is in legal trouble. After receiving praise for the crime-thriller, he has been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and other IPC sections.
The series is an adaptation of Amit Lodha's book 'Bihar Diaries: The True Story of How Bihar's Most Dangerous Criminal Was Caught'. It is stated that Lodha is not an established story writer, nor was he permitted to write a book for commercial objectives. "Ignoring these facts, in order to earn illicitly and to convert the black money into white, he used a book ‘Bihar Diary’ written by him for production of a web series, ‘Khakee the Bihar chapter’ by resorting to illegal activities."
According to the complaint, Lodha is accused of misusing his official position and committing financial fraud for personal benefit. The complaint stated that while serving as an IPS officer, Lodha signed an agreement with Netflix and the production company Friday Story Teller. He allegedly agreed to a deal with the production company for Rs 1. However, according to the police, his wife's account had a transaction for 49 lakh rupees. He is accused of signing contracts for financial gain with Friday Story Teller and Netflix while still working for the government.
The complaint also stated, "There was a heavy and regular transaction of money from the account of Friday Story Teller to Koumudi Lodha (Amit Lodha's wife). The timing of agreements signed and side flow of funds into the account of Koumudi Lodha indicate the ulterior motive of Amit Lodha to give legitimate cover to his ill-gotten wealth."According to a press release from the SVU (Special Vigilance Unit) of Bihar Police, Amit Lodha has been charged under sections 13(1), (b) read with section 13 (2) read with section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) and sections 120 (b) and 168 of the IPC.