Designer arrested following Amruta Fadnavis's complaint, father at large

Designer Aniksha Anil Jaisinghani was arrested by the police on Thursday after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis'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 the Malabar Hill police station where the First Information Report had been registered on February 20 on Amruta Fadnavis'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 Bharatiya Janata Party 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 off the hook in a police case, as per the FIR.

Amruta Fadnavis 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 Ajit Pawar 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her political connections and how she could get him into trouble if the cases against her absconding father were not withdrawn.

Her father Anil Jaisinghani faces 14 to 15 cases and is absconding, he said.

”In 2021, she resumed contact with Amruta and even asked her to wear the clothes designed by her. She spoke about her father claiming that he was implicated in false cases and asked for help. My wife said she should give a memorandum which would be forwarded to me,” Fadnavis said.

The deputy CM told the House, ”After the change of government, the designer spoke about her contacts with bookies. She claimed that she would share information and after the authorities conducted raids, she would get money from both parties.”

The designer hinted that if the cases are not withdrawn, she could implicate him (Devendra Fadnavis), said the deputy chief minister.

The woman dropped names of police officials and politicians to boast of her contacts, said Fadnavis. There were attempts to get the cases dropped during the tenure of the last police commissioner, he said.

Fadnavis also said that during the previous government, he always spoke of attempts being made to implicate him.