Mumbai: In a sensational development, the Mumbai Police on Thursday swooped to Ulhasnagar town and have detained two siblings in connection with alleged attempts to ‘bribe, threaten and blackmail’ Amruta Fadnavis, the banker-singer wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The development came a day after Amruta Fadnavis lodged a complaint with the Malabar Hill Police Station, accusing the father-daughter duo of Ulhasnagar of ‘bribe-threats-blackmail’.
Moving swiftly, the Malabar Hill Police Station (on Thursday) detained the duo — a professional fashion designer Aniksha Jaisinghani and her brother Akshan — while their bookie father, the other prime accused in the case, Anil Jaisinghani, is said to be absconding, officials said.
The matter grabbed prominence after the Nationalist Congress Party’s Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar raised the matter in the Assembly, while state Congress president Nana Patole termed the matter as “serious” and demanded an in-depth probe into the entire matter on Thursday afternoon.
Confirming the developments, Fadnavis assured a full investigation into the whole imbroglio and even hinted at a political conspiracy to target and tarnish him.
Later, Fadnavis told the media-persons that his wife Amruta came in touch with Aniksha some 16 months ago, how she (Aniksha) had visited Fadnavis’ home several times and won their confidence.
Anishka — who was in touch with the Fadnavis family since November 2021 — had given Amruta some designer clothes, jewellery and other accessories requesting her to promote these at her social and public shows to enable her to support her family.
Subsequently, after gaining their trust, Aniksha tried to give a bribe of Rs 1 crore to Amruta to help get her father (Anil Jaisinghani) off the hook in a criminal case, but when the latter didn’t fall for it and blocked her on the mobile, she (Aniksha) resorted to threats and blackmail.
Fadnavis said that Aniksha allegedly tried to lure and trap Amruta by revealing that her father was passing on information about bookies to the police, and said the Fadnavis couple could make money by directing the police to either ignore or act against those bookies, and they would show them more routes to rake in money.
A couple of days later, Aniksha sent some video clips, voice and text messages to Amruta from an unknown number, he added.
Fadnavis has also pointed fingers at the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, saying a lot of sensational things including some big names, like an ex-Commissioner of Police, are likely to tumble out in this matter and he would speak after the investigation.
While Aniksha, a law graduate, currently has no cases lodged against her, the police are checking the antecedents of her brother Akshan as also the cases filed against their fugitive father.
In a statement on Thursday evening, Patole slammed the government, saying that if the family of the Deputy Chief Minister — who is also the home minister controlling the police department — is not safe, how can the people of the state feel secure?
The police have booked the Jaisinghanis under IPC Sec. 120(B), and Prevention of Corruption Act Section 8 and 12, and further investigations are underway.
–IANS
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