Alleged bookie Anil Jaisinghani sent to judicial custody in a case related to alleged attempt to blackmail and bribe Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra Dy. CM Devendra Fadnavis. | file photo
| Photo Credit: PTI
A special court on Monday sent to judicial custody bookie Anil Jaisinghani, an accused arrested for allegedly trying to bribe Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife Amruta with ₹1 crore, and later extorting money.
Mr. Jaisinghani’s daughter Aniksha is already in judicial custody. His relative Nirmal, along with Mr. Jaisinghani, was sent to judicial custody by Additional Sessions Judge, D.D. Almale, at the end of their remand on Monday.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Ms. Fadnavis met Ms. Jaisinghani in November 2021, when Ms. Jaisinghani said she designed clothes, footwear and bags. The 27-year-old law student told the then State Home Minister’s wife that she was motherless and needed to support her family. She offered a bribe of ₹1 crore to Ms. Fadnavis to clear her father’s name in several cases, which was turned down.
The father and daughter are charged under Sections 120B (conspiracy) and 383 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code, and several provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mr. Jaisinghani has been on the run for eight years. Several cases are registered against him in Maharashtra, Assam, Goa, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, and some are related to betting. Some cases against him involve government servants acting against his rivals and filing fake cases against them.
