Kamal Ghorui
Singer and composer Palash Muchhal, who has been courting controversy over the past couple of days, on charges of cheating and caste-based abuse, shared photos on social media of his visit to Khatu Shyam Ji and Salasar Balaji temple.Posting photos of himself offering prayers to the deity, Muchhal captioned the post as, “Jahan sir jhuka, wahan sukoon mila.” He added, “Khatu Shyam Ji – Salasar Balaji – Jeevan Mata Ji.”The singer, however, turned off comments, as the post comes amid his alleged involvement in a cheating case. According to a report on Free Press Journal, a case has been registered against the singer and composer, under charges of cheating and offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The complaint was reportedly filed by Vidnyan Mane, a childhood friend of cricketer Smriti Mandhana, alleging financial cheating and caste-based abusive remarks during their dealings related to a film project.According to the complaint, Mane accused Muchhal of taking Rs 25 lakh as part of an investment linked to a film project and subsequently failing to return the money. As per NDTV, the complainant said in the statement, “On November 22, 2025, when he was in Sangli, I, along with my friends, met him in person. During this meeting, we realised that we had been deceived. At the same time, he made deeply offensive and casteist remarks about a particular community, which I have detailed in my FIR, as they are not appropriate to repeat publicly.“In January 2026, Mane submitted an application seeking an FIR against Muchhal to the Sangli Superintendent of Police. As per the complaint, Muchhal met Mane in Sangli on December 5, 2023. As he allegedly showed interest in investing in film production, Muchhal said he could invest in his upcoming project ‘Nazaria’ as a producer, the complainant claimed.After the film was released on OTT platforms, Mane claimed that Muchhal told him that he could earn a profit of Rs 12 lakh on an investment of Rs 25 lakh, and also offered him a role in the film. The two met twice after that, and Mane allegedly gave him a total of Rs 40 lakh as of March 2025. The project, however, was left incomplete, prompting Mane to ask for his money back, only to get no response. He then approached Sangli police.The singer then revealed in a post that he had filed a defamation suit against Mane over what he described as “false” allegations. In his Instagram post, he wrote, “A legal notice of defamation of Rs 10 crore has been sent by my lawyer Shreyansh Mithare to Sangli-based Vidnyan Mane for his false, outrageous and highly defamatory accusations made with the deliberate intent to malign my reputation and character.”
