In Art Director Nitin Desai’s Death, Police Case Against Creditor

Mumbai:

Bollywood art director Nitin Desai’s wife has filed a police case against five employees of creditor ECL Finance in his death case.

Mr Desai’s wife, Neha, in the first information report (FIR) alleged the officers of the company are responsible for causing severe mental stress to her husband.

She alleged the employees of the creditor firm harassed her husband over loans, which led to his death by suicide.

ECL Finance is a non-banking finance arm of Edelweiss Group.

Mr Desai had been facing mental harassment in connection with the loans his company had taken, and he died by suicide because of it, the FIR said.

Mr Desai, who worked for Bollywood films such as Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar, allegedly died by suicide at his studio in Maharashtra’s Raigad on Wednesday.

His company had defaulted on a Rs 252 crore loan repayment to creditors, and the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal had started insolvency proceedings.

Mr Desai’s company, ND’s Art World Pvt Ltd, had borrowed Rs 185 crore through two loans from ECL Finance in 2016 and 2018, and troubles with repayments started from January 2020.