MP seeks Jaisinghani in alcohol case

A team of Madhya Pradesh Police is in Mumbai to seek custody of alleged bookie and hawala operator Anil Jaisinghani for questioning in connection with a 2020 bootlegging case in Dhar district.

Jaisinghani was arrested by the Mumbai Police on Sunday after a dramatic 72-hour chase across several districts of Gujarat following a blackmail and extortion case filed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife, Amruta. He is in police custody till March 27.

According to the Madhya Pradesh Police, Jaisinghani, 54, was booked for allegedly smuggling alcohol from Daman and Diu to Dhar district following the seizure of liquor worth Rs50 lakh in August 2020.

“The arrest of Indore residents Gaffar and Munir led the investigators to

Anil Jaisinghani. He ran the alcohol smuggling racket using a network of bookies in Dhar, Dewas, Indore, Dhamond, Malwa and Nimar region,” an MP Police official said.

Jaisinghani had used the same tactics of implicating Madhya Pradesh excise officials in “fake” cases to blackmail and pressure the cops investigating the interstate trafficking of alcohol and evasion of excise duties. The bookie and hawala operator was notorious for filing fake cases against police, ED and other government officers investigating his criminal activities.

“Anil Jaisinghani had his hand in every criminal enterprise but surprisingly managed to evade arrest in over 17 criminal cases in five states. He fixed cricket matches and ran popular cricket betting sites, managed hawala funds, smuggled alcohol, filed fake cases of rape and kidnapping against police, threatened and evicted properties to take forcible possession. The list is endless,” said a Mumbai Police officer.

Goa and Assam also want to question Jaisinghani in fake rape cases filed to implicate business rivals. He is allegedly a pioneer of cricket betting and match fixing in India, wanted by the Enforcement Directorate in the Rs10,000 crore IPL spot-fixing and betting case registered in Gujarat.