Opposing bail to bookie Anil Jaisinghani, arrested for alleged blackmail and extortion of Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Mumbai Police on Tuesday told a special court that the accused may threaten Amruta again or defame her or Fadnavis via the news media or social media. The police also opposed the bail application of Anil's cousin Nirmal Jaisinghani, another accused in the case. The court will hear their pleas on March 31. Anil's daughter Aniksha, another accused in the case, was released from Byculla jail on Tuesday after being granted bail on Monday. Anil and Nirmal were arrested last week. After the special court sent the two to judicial custody on Monday, their lawyers filed bail applications on their behalf. Responding to the bail plea, the Mumbai Police said in its reply that its investigation is still going on and if released on bail, they will tamper with evidence. The police claimed that Anil is the main conspirator. "The complainant's husband (Fadnavis) is a prominent political person and Aniksha gained access to their residence multiple times by gaining the sympathy of the complainant (Amruta). This shows that the offence is serious and the investigation is still ongoing," the reply stated. It added that while multiple videos and audio clips were recorded by Aniksha and others, which were used to blackmail Amruta, the police are probing to find out if any other person was part of the conspiracy. The police reply further said that its probe is looking into finding out if the accused intended to cause any untoward incident. The police had claimed that Aniksha, posing as a designer, had gained access to Amruta in 2021 and insisted that she wear clothes and jewellery provided by her at events. Subsequently, Aniksha had offered a bribe of Rs 1 crore to Amruta seeking her intervention in dropping the cases against her father. The police claimed that after Amruta refused and blocked her phone, Aniksha threatened her through the videos and sought Rs 10 crore as extortion money. "If granted bail, the accused can tamper with the evidence or threaten the complainant again or use news media, social media or other means to defame her or her husband," the reply said. It added that Anil had 17 cases against him and was absconding for years and if granted bail, he may escape again. Meanwhile, an officer from Dhamnod police station in Madhya Pradesh moved the special court seeking Anil's custody in a case filed under the excise Act. Anil's lawyer, Manan Sanghai, opposed the plea. The court will hear it on April 3.
