Mumbai: Goregaon couple points fingers at Aarey police

Ashesh and Shivangi Mehta

Ashesh and Shivangi Mehta had written a letter to the police top brass accusing personnel from the Aarey police station of demanding Rs 5 crore for settling the
matter and not forwarding their file to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). The couple had sent a written complaint (mid-day has a copy) in this regard to the Mumbai police commissioner, and joint commissioner of the EOW demanding a fair investigation.

In the letter, the couple alleged that Ashesh was being framed through a well-planned conspiracy by Denron Rea IT Trade Pvt Ltd and its office bearers, an unknown person and two police personnel - Anil Chavan and Yogesh Nagre - from Aarey police station who want to ruin his business by implicating him in a false case, alleging he was trying to siphon off around R160 crore from his business account. The couple demanded a fair investigation and asked that an FIR be registered against those mentioned, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The Madhya Pradesh police had come to the Mehta couple's house on June 11 to inquire about a drug case. Aarey police officers were also present with the cops from MP. The couple was taken to Aarey police station for questioning. However, since the Mehta couple's driver was not around and they didn't know how to drive a car, they were driven there by Chavan and Nagre in Ashesh's Mercedes.

The letter states that on 12 June, Ashesh was in his office when he got a call from Chavan asking him to meet in person. "My wife Shivangi and I met them [Chavan and Nagre] around 1pm. Nagre told me that they had gone through my business profile and it seems that I do not have the requisite SEBI registration despite holding a big portfolio of clients. I explained that the nature of my business may not require SEBI registration but nevertheless, it is a curable inconsistency," the letter states.

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According to the letter, the cops then called one Rahul Joshi from cyber security who said that he could help get an NBFC licence. "They then demanded R5 crore and said that if I didn't pay, they would forward my file to the EOW and destroy my business and reputation, and that I would face dire consequences." Ashesh was allegedly given me time till 6 pm on that day and told that he would receive bank account details where the money needed to be transferred. He has also alleged that the couple received multiple WhatsApp calls from Chavan in the evening, but they ignored them.

"On 13 June, around 7.30 pm, I got a call from Dharmendra Singh Bhadoria - a police officer from Shivpuri police station in MP, asking me to visit for further investigation. At the time, I told him that I should check with my lawyer for further advice and then got back to him," the letter reads.

The Mehtas further stated that on June 23, they were informed via WhatsApp about an order dated June 15, 2023, passed by the Khed district judge in an execution petition to Kotak Mahindra bank by Denron Rea for an arbitration interim award to be transferred to the account of the latter.

According to the letter, the Mehtas had no business transactions or arbitration agreement with Denron. "We were taken by shock by the order and on inspection of the court record it was seen that our signatures had been forged on the affidavit of consent given in the said arbitration execution proceedings. Someone had even represented us and forged our signatures on the vakaltnama," it states.

The Mehtas alleged that it seemed to be part of a larger conspiracy to make them engage in fake criminal proceedings of drug cases to surreptitiously siphon amounts from Ashesh's bank accounts. "It requires serious investigation as the proceedings are clearly bogus, lodged by forging our signatures," the letter says. Meanwhile, Chavan told mid-day that he and Nagre had accompanied the MP police to the Mehta's home on June 11. "The next day, Mehta called me. Nagre and I went to meet him at his office where he informed me about his business. He also said that many ministers and officials have invested with him and earn 5-10 per cent monthly profits on their investments. There were CCTV cameras where we met outside his office. His allegations are false," Chavan said.

According to Nagre, after being questioned by the MP police, Mehta took their mobile numbers and called the next day, asking to meet in person. "We spoke to him while having tea at the circle outside his office. He told us about his business and the application through which he was running it. We went to Mehta's house only to support Madhya Pradesh police, nothing else. His accusation is false and baseless," Nagre said.

Senior Inspector Jagdeesh Deshmukh of Aarey police said the investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, the Mehtas' lawyer said his clients had filed a complaint in this regard with the relevant authorities but no action has been taken to date. "Even the EOW has not investigated the allegations made in my client's complaint. In fact, there is enough material to show that my client is a victim of an orchestrated conspiracy by Denron and people operating at their behest. If the EOW conducts a fair probe, it is likely that no case under the MPID ACT will be made out against my clients."

June 11
Day Madhya Pradesh cops questioned the Mehtas

June 12
Day Aarey cops allegedly made cash demand