Puja Banerjee and Kunal Verma.
Credit: Instagram/@kunalrverma
Actors Puja Banerjee and Kunal Verma were booked by the Goa Police for reportedly kidnapping and extorting money from the Bengali producer Shyam Sunder Dey, in the state of Goa.
Earlier this month, a Zero FIR was filed against the actor-couple from the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police, BDN Zone, Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, in West Bengal. Soon after, an offence was registered on Thursday, the Goa Police informed.
According to the police, the FIR was filed by the producer's wife, Malabika Dey, on Thursday. She shared a post on Facebook stating the details of the extortion, including WhatsApp screenshots and cheques.
"With a heavy heart, I share an incident that no family should ever have to face. On 31st May 2025, my husband, Mr. Shyam Sunder Dey, a prominent name in the Bengali film industry with over 60 films to his credit, was forcefully abducted, wrongfully confined, and extorted by individuals he once trusted as friends — Ms. Puja Banerjee (aka Puja Bose), Mr. Kunal Verma, and their influential friend Mr. Piyush Kothari," she stated, providing the evidence she collected.
They initially demanded Dey to pay Rs 64 lakhs. However, after suffering abuse at the hands of his abductors, he was forced to transfer Rs 23 lakhs to Puja's assistant.
Through the post, Malabika Dey has provided receipts and screenshots of her WhatsApp chats with Kunal and Puja.
Earlier this month, Puja and Kunal uploaded a video on their channel, stating they are going through a financial crisis due to a scam they fell victim to.
Yesterday, Banerjee took to her social media profiles to post about the ongoing news. "Going through the toughest times of our lives," she stated, referring to the alleged extortion and abduction.
"Those who are standing by us, we will be forever grateful to you all. And those who believe in the lies spread against us, God bless them too. I believe in God, and you know God is watching," she added.
The Zero FIR was filed on Thursday, and the investigation has begun officially. The charges included BNS sections related to wrongful restraint, kidnapping, and extortion. The sections included 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 137(2) (kidnapping), 140 (2) (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder or for ransom etc), 308(5) (extortion), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to an interview with The Times of India, Shyam Sunder Dey said that he was travelling to Goa when his vehicle was intercepted by Puja, after which he was abducted and forced to transfer money.
He had shared his live location with his wife, which allowed the authorities to track his movement and rescue hi.
He stated this "madness cannot be forgiven", no matter the monetary consequences. "Abduction or kidnapping can never be a fair or lawful way to settle anything."