Bookie Anil Jaisinghani, cousin sent to police custody till March 27
The special ACB (anti-corruption bureau) court on Tuesday remanded bookie Anil Jaisinghani and his cousin Nirmal, arrested in connection with the bribery and blackmailing case involving Amruta Fadnavis, wife of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, in police custody till March 27
The special ACB (anti-corruption bureau) court on Tuesday remanded bookie Anil Jaisinghani and his cousin Nirmal, arrested in connection with the bribery and blackmailing case involving Amruta Fadnavis, wife of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, in police custody till March 27. The court also extended the police remand of Jaisinghani’s daughter Aniksha till March 24.
The duo was arrested on Monday near Kalol toll plaza in Gujarat after a three-day search. The custody of Aniksha, who was arrested on March 16 in her Ulhasnagar residence, ended on Tuesday.
Appearing for the state, chief public prosecutor Jaising Desai sought police custody of the trio, claiming that several developments had taken place after Aniksha’s arrest. He claimed that Aniksha is not cooperating with the investigators and the police need to analyse the data found in her mobile phone and to confront the three on several things.
“We have to find the cash of ₹1 crore which Aniksha is seen counting in one of the videos that she sent to the complainant (Amruta Fadnavis) and the bag in which the cash was being filled,” Desai said, adding that it was a conspiracy in which the three tried to frame a public servant (deputy CM) through his wife.
The remand application filed by the police also said that one politician is suspected to be involved in the crime and this aspect needs to be investigated.
The prosecutor further said the accused had used several dongles to make data calls. “We need to find out if there were more accused involved in the conspiracy. An opportunity needs to be given to the prosecution to carry out the investigation as we have made progress. Aniksha has stored her father’s number as ‘Papayaaa’ in her phone.”
Advocates Manan Sanghai and Mrigendra Singh, representing the accused, told the court that in Aniksha’s case the police have recovered everything. She is a young girl who has been tortured and she has not been able to attend her law exams, they said.
“Now the complainant has lodged a case against Aniksha, but we have several photos and videos in which the two can be seen hugging each other,” they said and added that the status of the complainant (being the wife of the home minister) should not impact the case.
As regards Jaisinghani, they said his arrest was illegal. He was arrested around 11.45 pm on March 19 and the police produced him before the court on Tuesday. The lawyers said the police should have produced him within 24 hours or taken transit remand from a court in Gujarat, in accordance with section 167 of Code of Criminal Procedure. They further claimed that Nirmal was arrested just for accompanying his cousin.
After hearing both sides, special judge Dipak Almale extended Aniksha’s police custody till March 24 and remanded Anil and Nirmal in police custody till March 27.
According to the police, Aniksha, posing as a fashion designer, befriended Amruta Fadnavis and later offered to relay information about cricket bookies to her, saying they could both make money off it.
When the complainant stopped communicating with her, Aniksha offered her a bribe of ₹1 crore in exchange for clearing her father of all charges, the police said. After Amruta Fadnavis dismissed Aniksha, she threatened to reveal details of their conversations and demanded ₹10 crore, the police said. The Malabar Hill police registered an FIR on February 20.