Curious case of arrest of bookie’s daughter in Mumbai | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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Curious case of arrest of bookie’s daughter in Mumbai

Mar 17, 2023 12:37 AM IST

But what has given ammunition to his political opponents is the fact that Aniksha, who has known Amruta Fadnavis since 2014, is the daughter of well-known bookie Anil Jaisinghani. He has multiple cases of cheating against him and is wanted by the Mumbai police for the last several years.

MUMBAI: The daughter of one of Mumbai’s most notorious bookies was arrested on Thursday evening for allegedly trying to blackmail the wife of Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister who also serves as the state’s home minister.

Mumbai, India - March 16, 2023: Police detain Anshika Jaisinghani from Ulhasnagar for questioning in connection with the case filed by Amruta Fadnavis over allegations of bribe, threat and conspiracy, at D.B. Marg Police Station, Grant Road, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, March 16, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)
Mumbai, India - March 16, 2023: Police detain Anshika Jaisinghani from Ulhasnagar for questioning in connection with the case filed by Amruta Fadnavis over allegations of bribe, threat and conspiracy, at D.B. Marg Police Station, Grant Road, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, March 16, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Aniksha Jaisinghani, 27, was arrested by Malabar Hill police from her residence at Ulhasnagar following an FIR filed on February 20th by Amruta Fadnavis. The police action was nearly a month coming, and it coincided with a newspaper report on the matter on Thursday morning.

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Speaking in the House in the ongoing budget session of Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis claimed the effort to blackmail his wife was part of a larger political conspiracy by his opponents though he refrained from taking any names saying he was awaiting more proof.

But what has given ammunition to his political opponents is the fact that Aniksha, who has known Amruta Fadnavis since 2014, is the daughter of well-known bookie Anil Jaisinghani. He has multiple cases of cheating against him and is wanted by the Mumbai police for the last several years.

In her FIR, Amruta Fadnavis has claimed that she met Aniksha only in November 2021 when the daughter of the cricket bookie introduced herself as a designer of clothes, jewellery and footwear. Fadnavis told the police that she was taken in by Aniksha who told her that she had lost her mother and was taking care of her family. In the FIR, Amruta Fadnavis also says that Aniksha visited their official bungalow several times and showed up at many of her public events with the request to be the brand ambassador for her clothes and jewellery.

However, it appears Aniksha met Amruta Fadnavis under false pretext and even a cursory check reveals that she is not a fashion designer and nor is she associated with any fashion label.

Things began to sour, claims Amruta Fadnavis in the FIR, when Aniksha not only sought her help to clear cases against her father but also offered her information about other bookies saying together they could make money off the information.

Fadnavis says she refused to do so which is when Aniksha began to harass her with screenshots of messages, the two women had purportedly exchanged, including a video where a member of Fadnavis’s staff is seen counting some cash from a bag.

Amruta Fadnavis told the Malabar Hill police station that Anisksha had once waylaid her when she was returning to Mumbai from Pune after a public event and offered her a bribe of 1 crore to save her father, an offer that she turned down.

Devendra Fadnavis told the Assembly that these videos and messages were morphed. The police have now sent them for forensic evaluation. The Crime Intelligence Unit headed by ACP Ravi Sardesai has booked Aniksha Jaisinghani under section 120B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 8 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

“We have arrested her and are questioning her. We have seized three of her phones and are also trying to ascertain her father’s whereabouts,” said a police officer who did not want to be quoted. He added that the delay in arresting her was because they were initially trying to catch her red-handed.

“When Amruta Fadnavis began avoiding her after the bribery attempt, Aniksha began sending audio and video clips from different numbers to the deputy chief minister’s wife. The audio messages contained recorded conversations between them and video clips in which somebody was counting money from a bag that was handed to Fadnavis’s staff. In fact, the bag contained clothes and was not connected with any counting of cash,” said the police officer.

What remains a mystery is the prolonged acquaintance between Jaisinghani and the deputy CM’s wife. Aniksha has no fashion label and is in fact studying for a degree from DM Harish School of Law in Worli. She has earlier earned a Master’s in Arts from Ulhasnagar’s Chandibai Himathmal Mansukhani College. She is also a published author and a lyricist. Most of her writings revolve around the memories of her mother Karishma who passed away six years ago.

Also, this is not the first time her name has appeared in police case diaries. In 2016 she was named as a co-accused along with her father in a complaint registered by the Anjuna police in Goa. The case involved a rape complaint, later proved to be fake, lodged by an employee of Anil Jaisinghani’s against Thane-based builder and hotelier Kishore Keswani.

In this case, Aniksha and others were charged with forgery, cheating and providing false information to the police. In 2015, when the Gujarat unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was on the lookout for Anil Jaisinghani, his then fourteen-year-old son had alleged that the officers had asked his father for bribe through him. His name has also drawn another controversy when he was given police protection at the age of 12.

Once one of India’s biggest cricket bookies, Anil Jaisinghani has been on the run from police for over eight years now. He reportedly fled the country after the Gujarat unit of the ED started money laundering probe against him in early 2015. There are over 15 cases registered against him in Maharashtra, Assam, Goa, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Most of them pertain to betting.

In fact, when the bookie was provided police protection in 2010 despite a number of cases being registered against him, Devendra Fadnavis, then in opposition, had raised the issue in the House forcing the government of the day to withdraw police protection to Jaisinghani.

The bookie was again provided police protection ahead of the 2015 Cricket world cup while his name was reflected in Thane police police’s list of “history sheeters.” This time, Fadnavis was the chief minister, ordered an enquiry after which the protection was again withdrawn.

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