Extortionist pet 'activist' held for harassing dog owner from Thane

Bimlesh Navani was arrested on Saturday

Days after animal activist and MP Maneka Gandhi severed ties with the Mumbai Unit 1 of her non-profit People for Animals (PFA) over allegations of extortion, a woman, Bimlesh Navani, associated with the organisation was arrested for allegedly harassing a pet owner from Thane. The Sion police have also booked Lata Parmar, president of PFA's Mumbai Unit 1, in the case. Another accused, Mohit Chawre, has got anticipatory bail.

An FIR was registered against Parmar and her team members on April 14 for allegedly forging a document and using the stamps of Sion police on the letterhead of PFA while taking custody of a Dalmatian from a Thane resident.

Parmar said, "I'm not an extortionist and I never threatened anyone and demanded money. I am cooperating with the cops and also handed over all the email evidence. I don't have the knowledge about the forged document and I also informed Maneka Gandhi and the police. The police will take action against them for their crime."

The Dalmatian that was taken away by PFA members; (right) Lata Parmar, the main accused

She said, "I was the head of PFA Mumbai, due to this reason I was targeted. I uploaded the forged document when I didn't have any knowledge about it but when I realized I deleted the uploaded documents. I never committed any crime and I am helping animals and giving justice to them."

She added, "I am not also absconding and I am giving all answers to the police. If they get any evidence they can arrest me but I am not involved in this crime. It's a false FIR to spoil my entire career. I have started my own individual NGO after I was removed from PFA and I am still working to help animals.

Senior Inspector Manoj Hirlekar of the Sion police station said, "We have arrested the accused Bimlesh Navani after we found that they forged the documents and used the Sion police station stamp on it for extorting money from the pet owner. In the investigation, we also found how and from where they forged the documents."

DCP Vijay Patil said, "We have arrested Bimlani Navani on Saturday and she was remanded in police custody till Tuesday. We have not arrested the main accused Lata Parmar and we are verifying her role in the case."

Investigation officer Avinash Jagtap said, "We also found that they threatened the complainant. The accused also posted a photo of the dog along with them on social media."

‘Don't spare them'

Complainant Ravi Vikram Bhatnagar, an animal activist who alerted the police about the forged document welcome the action by the Sion police. "But two more accused are yet to be arrested. The police should take the strictest action against these people. These people were using Maneka Gandhi's name and extorting people. The police should get a free hand to investigate this matter and arrest the accused."

As per the FIR, a few PFA members visited a site of Vedant Construction on Ghodbunder Road, Thane, on March 3. They found a Dalmatia dog and told its owner Akshay Zade that they were taking the canine and Zade could get it back after showing the necessary documents. The same day, Bhatnagar, who is a friend of Zade, came across a photo of the dog on social media. He found something was off in the documents uploaded along with the picture of the dog and alerted the cops.