Ex-IAS officer, who ventured into filmmaking, gets bail in cheque-bounce case

Bhopal: A former IAS officer, who ventured into filmmaking after retirement and directed ‘The Battle of Bhima Koregaon’, has been granted bail in a Rs 11.5 lakh cheque-bounce case, a day after his arrest from Nagpur, officials said on Friday.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Kalpana Kotwal here allowed the bail application of Ramesh S Thete and ordered his release on a bond of Rs 10,000 on Thursday.

Thete told the court that he was unable to arrange a surety and requested release on a personal bond.


“The court was convinced by my argument and granted me bail in one minute. They had their day yesterday... My day will come. I will come with facts,” he said.

The MP Nagar police in Bhopal arrested him from Nagpur on Wednesday, with assistance from local cops.

According to complainant Pradeep Ramteke, Thete had borrowed Rs 11.5 lakh from him and issued a cheque for repayment. The cheque was dishonoured due to insufficient funds, prompting Ramteke to file a case.

As per court records, Thete had repeatedly failed to appear during hearings despite being given opportunities to do so. The circumstances suggested he was deliberately evading execution of the warrants, the court had observed in March.

The complainant subsequently approached the court, alleging that Thete was absconding and not complying with its directions. The court then declared him an absconder under Section 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and issued a permanent arrest warrant.

Thete, a 1993-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, retired on July 31, 2020. He had alleged that despite being an IAS officer, he was never appointed a district collector and was targeted because of his association with Ambedkarite ideology.

After retirement, Thete set up a production company and directed ‘The Battle of Bhima Koregaon’. The film was initially scheduled for theatrical release on September 17, 2021, but could not hit screens due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asked about his film, Thete said it will be released in January 2028.