Updated on: 17th March 2023 04:53 PM IST | Mumbai
Sampeter Nadar | news@debotimes.in

The Deputy CM said that the police began to engage with the absconding bookie, who called from a VPN number, in order to trap him

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said his wife Amruta Fadnavis had filed an FIR against a woman and her father, an absconding bookie, alleging that the duo had tried to “blackmail and pressurise” her into withdrawing cases lodged against the bookie.

Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Mr Fadnavis further said that his wife was also threatened with dire consequences regarding his political career if she did not comply.

Mr Fadnavis issued a statement in the Assembly after the Leader of the Opposition and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar sought clarification from him in the matter of Ms Fadnavis’s FIR, which had been filed last month.

The bookie named Anil Jaisinghani had been absconding for the last four or five years and has had no less than 14 cases lodged against him in various States of the country informed Mr Fadnavis.

“His daughter Aniksha, who is educated, had first contacted my wife in 2015-16. After that, she then resumed contact in 2021 when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power by claiming to be a ‘dress designer’ who also designed artificial jewellery. She gradually tried to gain the trust of my wife by telling many stories. She claimed that her mother had passed away and that she had allegedly penned a book on that experience and asked my wife to endorse it,” said the Deputy CM.

Mr Fadnavis said that the woman told her wife that her father used to help the police catch bookies in return for money and had solicited her help.

“She claimed to my wife that Jaisinghani had been trapped in false cases. My wife told her that if he had indeed been trapped, then he ought to give a memorandum to me [the Deputy CM] to look into the matter. She (Jaisinghani’s daughter) again approached and said that she can offer ?1 crore for help in saving her father. My wife soon realised this woman was up to no good and blocked her,” said Mr Fadnavis.

Two days after Ms Fadnavis had blocked the lady, she began receiving messages and videos from an unknown number that happened to be Jaisinghani’s.

“My wife was threatened that this video would be made public if I did not help in withdrawing the cases against Jaisinghani. It would ruin my political career. And after Amruta told me about it, we called the police and filed an FIR but did not make it public. We did a forensic report of the dubious and doctored video. There was one video that caused concern. In that, the girl [Jaisinghani’s daughter] is seen packing money in a bag and that bag is seen in my house as if to imply our family was involved in some dubious transactions,” Mr Fadnavis told the Assembly.