Designer Anishka Anil Jaisinghani was arrested by police on Thursday after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis’s wife Amruta accused her of offering a bribe for intervening in a criminal case and also threatening her.
Jaisinghani’s father, also an accused in the case, was still at large, said an official of Malabar Hill police station where the First Information Report had been registered on February 20 on AmrutaFadnavis’s complaint. As per the FIR, Aniksha was in touch with Amruta for the past 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 AmrutaRs 1 crore to get her father off the hook in a police case, as per the FIR. AmrutaFadnavis also told the police that she was upset by Aniksha’s behaviour and blocked her number, the police official said. The woman then allegedly sent Amruta video clips, voice notes and many messages from an unknown number.
She and her father indirectly threatened and conspired against Amruta, said the official citing the FIR. The police registered the FIR against Aniksha and her father under Indian Penal Code sections 120-B (conspiracy) and the Prevention of Corruption Act sections pertaining to using corrupt and illegal means to induce a public servant to take a bribe.
Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis told the Legislative Assembly that appropriate inquiry will be conducted into the FIR.
Fadnavis spoke about the matter after it was raised by Leader of Opposition AjitPawar who sought to know the details of the case reported in the media. The deputy CM said that the designer, against whom the complaint has been filed, hinted about her political connections and how she could get him into trouble if the cases against her absconding father were not withdrawn.
