Edelweiss Group executives appear before police with loan documents in Nitin Desai suicide case

The Raigad police in Maharashtra received loan-related documents from four ECL Finance Company/Edelweiss Group representatives on Friday in connection with an investigation into the alleged suicide of acclaimed film art director Nitin Desai, whose company had a significant debt load.

ECL managing director Phanindranath Kakrala was among the four company representatives who appeared before investigating officers at the Khalapur police station in adjoining Raigad district this morning, he said. Examination of loan documents and questioning of the executives lasted till 7.30 pm and they were again called on August 14 at 10.30 am, he said.

The name of another asset reconstruction company (ARC) cropped up during the examination of the papers and questioning of the executives, said a second official. Desai, 57, who had worked for acclaimed Bollywood films such as Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar, was found hanging at his studio at Karjat in Raigad district on August 2.

Desai’s company ND’s Art World Pvt Ltd had defaulted on a Rs 252 crore loan repayment to creditors and the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had initiated insolvency proceedings against it. As instructed by the probe team, the ECL executives this morning brought loan-related documents to the police station. Earlier this week, Kakrala and three other officials were questioned by the probe team in connection with the loan given to Desai’s company.