A shocking case of online impersonation and fraud has surfaced in the Khar area, where an unidentified man allegedly duped several youngsters—especially young women—by creating a fake Instagram account in the name of prominent filmmaker Vikas Bahl. Posing as Bahl and even claiming to be the CEO of Netflix, the accused lured aspiring actors for fake auditions and coaxed some of them into sending semi-nude bikini photographs.
The fraud came to light after Vikas Bahl himself approached the Khar Police and filed a complaint, leading to the registration of a case under cheating and relevant IT Act sections. Police have launched a search to trace the accused.
Vikas Harish Bahl, a well-known Bollywood director-producer residing in Khar, maintains official social media accounts for professional interactions. On 30 September, while he was at home, a friend named Nandan Singh from Delhi alerted him that a bogus Instagram account had been created using his name. Singh informed him that the impersonator was contacting young women from reputed families, messaging them and calling them for meetings and auditions.
Shocked by this, Bahl checked the fake account himself and discovered that his identity was being blatantly misused. On 15 November, he received a call from a young woman stating that she had been receiving repeated messages from an account claiming to be Vikas Bahl. She was told that a new web series was being produced for Netflix and was asked to come for an audition at a mall in Ghatkopar, where she eventually met the impersonator.
Soon, similar complaints began coming in from several young women. The accused reportedly introduced himself as the CEO of Netflix and arranged meetings at various locations. In one such meeting in Powai, he allegedly tried to inappropriately touch a young woman, prompting her to firmly warn him off. The man also persuaded several women to send him semi-nude bikini photographs, claiming these were required for casting decisions.
According to the complaint, between 20 October and 26 November 2025, the accused called multiple women to different places across Mumbai for fake auditions using Bahl’s name, and obtained obscene photographs from some of them.
Taking the matter seriously, Bahl submitted a written complaint to Khar Police, following which a case was registered for cheating and offences under the IT Act. Police have collected CCTV footage from all locations where the accused met the victims and are working to identify him. Officials stated that the impersonator will be arrested soon.