Mumbai Police has filed an over 700 pages charge sheet in a case related to an alleged attempt to blackmail and extort money from Amruta Fadnavis, the wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, an official said here.
The charge sheet was filed before a city court on Thursday against Anil Jaisinghani, his daughter and fashion designer Aniksha and their relative Nirmal Jaisinghani.
The document, which runs into 733 pages, includes the statements of 13 witnesses, he said.
After a charge sheet is filed, the court takes cognisance of it and frames charges, which is the starting point of a criminal trial.
The Malabar Hill police station in South Mumbai registered a case in the matter on February 20 under section 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and sections 8 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act on Amruta Fadnavis’s complaint.
As per the FIR, Aniksha was in touch with Amruta for the previous 16 months and also visited her residence.
In her statement to the police, Amruta said she first met Aniksha in November 2021. Aniksha claimed that she was a designer of clothes, jewellery and footwear, and requested the BJP leader’s wife to wear them at public events saying it would help her promote the products.
After gaining Amruta’s trust, Aniksha offered to provide her with information on some bookies through which, she claimed, they could make money. She then directly offered Amruta Rs 1 crore to get her father, an alleged cricket bookie, off the hook in a police case, as per the FIR.
When Amruta blocked her number and severed contact with her, Aniksha allegedly threatened her, the FIR said.
While Aniksha and Nirmal Jaisinghani have got bail, Anil Jaisinghani, who is facing multiple cases, is still in jail.
