22 June,2023 08:07 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
Ashesh Kumar and Shivangi Mehta
The alleged masterminds of a massive home-based drug distribution racket, Ashesh Kumar Mehta and his wife Shivangi, who were absconding in a case filed with the Khaniyadhana police station in Madhya Pradesh, filed an anticipatory bail application in the NDPS court in the state's Shivpuri district on Tuesday.
According to police sources, the arguments of the Mehtas and the Khaniyadhana police have been heard and the court will pronounce its decision on Thursday.
"A long and wide debate by both sides has happened in the court. We strongly opposed the bail application of the couple. We told the court how the accused absconded even after being summoned to present themselves before the investigators as the arrested accused [a courier allegedly employed by the duo] revealed their names and also identified them in front of the Mumbai police. Both of them untraceable," said an officer of the Khaniyadhana police station.
When the Madhya Pradesh police team visited the couple's Goregaon residence a few days ago, the flat was locked and they discovered that they had fled.
"After obtaining the KYC details of the accused with the help of his mobile number, we came to know that he has hundreds of crores in his bank accounts. We suspect he may have got all this money from dealing drugs," said an officer.
"During the investigation, we also came to know that Ashesh's relatives live in Kenya. We suspect drugs were being supplied to him from the African country, due to which he was able to carry out such a large-scale operation. We need to get custody of the accused to get to the bottom of things," the officer added.
Advocate Shailendra Samadhiya, who is representing the Mehtas, told mid-day, "The couple is innocent and someone is deliberately trying to implicate them in a false case so that Ashesh's trading business, which was built up with years of hard work, can be destroyed."
"When the Madhya Pradesh police came to my clients' Goregaon residence the first time, the couple cooperated. The second time, they were forced by the Madhya Pradesh police to present themselves before them and were threatened with arrest," he added.
Samadhiya said that merely naming someone does not make that person an accused. "If the accused recognises my client, in this era of social media, every person has their own account; any person can target anyone by showing a photo to anyone.
"If the Madhya Pradesh cops were aware of their involvement, why did they not arrest them? They could have easily got permission [to make the arrests] from the district magistrate court in Mumbai. It was not necessary to take an order from the Madhya Pradesh court. It is very clear my client is being falsely dragged into this case in a well-planned manner by someone to spoil his stable business," he said.
"My clients are innocent and we strongly put our side in the court," Samadhiya said.
June 20
Day couple filed for bail
