More than a fortnight after they filed a detailed chargesheet before a Special ACB court, the Mumbai Police on Tuesday claimed that they took the help of banker-singer Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, to “track down and arrest” an absconding bookie Anil Jaisinghani from Ulhasnagar.
After the chat transcripts between Jaisinghani and Amruta surfaced in the media, the Investigating Officer (IO) in the case Ravi Sardesai said that “the entire conversation that took place between the two on February 24, 2023 was carried out as part of the strategic advice” to find out of the location of the accused bookie who had been absconding for the last seven to eight years.
“We instructed the complainant to engage him through WhatsApp chats and other means for a prolonged period till the accused was apprehended,” Sardesai said.
In a chat that she sent on February 24, Amruta told Jaisinghani that her husband Fadnavis would do justice to him, if he was convinced that the accused bookie was vicitimised. “I will Deven ji... One thing I know about him is that once he verifies and feels that you are victimised, he will do 100 per cent justice to you”.
Amruta also told Jaisinghani on the same day: “Instead of speaking on phone, I will meet Anishka (daughter of Jaisinghani) at some location other than Sagar bungalow (Fadnavis’ official bungalow). I will meet her after 26th as Deven ji is busy in the Pune by-polls till 26th”.
Jaisinghani (58) and Anishka (24) are accused of offering a bribe of Rs 1 crore and “blackmail” her to get the latter’s father off the hook in a police case. The chats that took place between Jaisinghani and Anishka on February 24 are part of a 733-page chargesheet filed before the Special ACB Court on May 18. The “strategy” adopted by the Mumbai police with the help of Amruta worked, as Jaisinghani and his nephew Nirmal were arrested from Gujarat after a 72-hour ‘Operation AJ’ on March 20, while Aniksha had already been arrested on March 16 from Ulhasnagar.
It may be recalled that Fadnavis — while making a statement in the State Assembly on March 16 — had narrated the chain of events leading to his Amruta lodging a First Information Report (FIR) against Aniksha who allegedly tried to bribe her with Rs 1 crore to husband’s “intervention” get the latter’s father from a police case.
In the FIR, Amruta had said that Aniksha had allegedly offered to provide the former information on some bookies through which they could earn money and then directly offered Rs 1 crore as bribe to get her (Anishka’s) father released in a police case. Based on Amruta’s FIR, the Malabar Hill police station in south Mumbai registered a case against Aniksha and her father under Section 120 (B) (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 8 and 12 of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. The Section 8 relates to using corrupt and illegal means to “induce” a public servant, while the Section 12 deals with abetment.
Fadnavis had — in his statement made in the Assembly —alleged that going by the hints of the accused “designer”, a “trap” had been laid to “target me politically”.
Fadnavis had said that while his wife had blocked the suspect woman’s number, the accused woman tried to blackmail his wife using one fake video.
“The FIR filed by my wife talks about the corruption and bribery attempt. Anil Jaisinghani is a bookie, missing for four or five years. There are 14 cases against him. His daughter Aniksha, who is educated, got in touch with my wife after the previous MVA Government came to power in the State. She said I am a dress designer, I wear my dresses, I do jewellery work,” Fadnavis said.