An infamous cricket bookie Anil Jaisinghani (56) and his daughter Aniksha Jaisinghani (24) tried to bribe Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s wife Amruta Fadnavis to clear the bookie’s name in several criminal cases, and when Ms. Fadnavis turned down the offer, the duo blackmailed her and demanded ₹10 crore, says a chargesheet filed by the Malabar Hill police in Mumbai.
“Anil through his daughter offered a bribe of ₹1 crore to get a clean chit, but when she refused their offer, they blackmailed and threatened Ms. Fadnavis. They said they would make her voice notes and some video clips public with the help of some politicians unless she paid ₹10 crore,” the chargesheet which was filed in a local court last month read.
On February 20, Ms. Fadnavis, a banker, lodged a complaint with the Malabar Hill police accusing the Jaisinghanis of threatening and blackmailing her. Based on her complaint, a case under Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against the pair and a probe was launched. During the investigation, the police advised Ms. Fadnavis to stay in touch with Anil so that his location could be traced. He had been on the run for nearly eight years with cases registered against him in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Goa, and other States.
“Ms. Fadnavis offered to help Mr. Jaisinghani resolve the cases against him and spoke about her strained relationship with Mr. Fadnavis, and other issues to keep the conversation alive and help police nab the accused,” the 793-page document said.
This entire conversation involving Ms. Fadnavis and the accused was part of a strategy to locate the absconding accused. The chargesheet includes screenshots of their WhatsApp chats.
One of the WhatsApp messages sent by Mr. Jaisinghani to Ms. Fadnavis stated, “Last Shivratri, you had sought to bring down the MVA government and trap Eknath Shinde and Anil Parab. I have all the recordings and proof, don’t worry - Happy Shivratri.”
Mr. Jaisinghani also claimed that his daughter gave Ms. Fadnavis cash in dollars, and he allegedly had a video recording of it. “There is no video of Ms. Fadnavis accepting dollars. They just recorded a dollars video and later Ms Fadnavis’s video. Both videos were shot separately. It’s false allegation,” the chargesheet said.
Anishka, met Ms. Fadnavis in November 2021, by claiming to be a designer who made clothes, footwear, and bags. The duo was arrested on March 16, and Ms. Jaisinghani was granted bail on March 27.
According to the chargesheet, Ms. Fadnavis cooperated fully with the investigation and followed instructions by the police to assist in locating the accused. “Moreover, Ms. Fadnavis never accepted any money from the accused, and in fact, they attempted to blackmail her,” they said.
