A charge sheet was filed in court after a CBI probe into alleged financial irregularities in the making of a government-sanctioned film on Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
The culture ministry had sanctioned the production of a film on the freedom fighter while commemorating 50 years of the Indian republic in 2000-2001 at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said in the Lok Sabha today.
He said the funds were released in two instalments of Rs 1.25 crore each during FY 2000-2001.
The file relating to the sanction was not traceable. The matter had been reported to police, he said in reply to a question by BJP MP and Dalit leader Udit Raj.
The ministry had in December 2012 received an RTI application enquiring about the status of the film. In September 2013, the producer, Vinay Dhumale, was asked to submit a status report.
Dhumale then submitted two "scratch copies" of the film in December 2013 along with photocopies of utilisation certificates (UCs) for the sanctioned fund.
Sharma said that on watching the film and based on some inputs from the ministry of information and broadcasting, financial irregularities in the production of the film were noticed.
"After a detailed examination of the case, the matter was referred to the CBI in July 2015 for investigation. As per a report received from the CBI, a charge sheet has been filed in the Patiala House Court and the court has taken cognisance of the case," the minister said.
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