Mumbai: Finfluencer gets bail after months in jail

Ashesh and Shivangi Mehta, founders, directors of Bliss Consultants

After spending over 210 days underground and more than 100 days in jail following her arrest, the Mumbai Sessions Court finally approved bail for Shivangi Mehta, director of operations at Bliss Consultants, on Wednesday. The court ordered her release under various conditions. Shivangi Mehta's husband, Ashesh Mehta, is still in jail, and his bail application is scheduled to be heard in the session's court on April 29.

According to sources, the court granted bail to Shivangi and ordered her release upon furnishing a PR bond of Rs 1,00,000/- with one or more sureties in the like amount. The court has also ordered Mehta to surrender her passport to the investigating officer within one week of her release. She was directed to make herself available for interrogation by the investigating officer as and when required, with prior intimation.

The court instructed Shivangi not to leave India without prior permission from the court and refrain from alienating any movable and immovable property in her name or the name of her relatives, if any, without permission from the court. She is also prohibited from tampering with the prosecution evidence or pressurising the prosecution witnesses in any manner until the conclusion of the trial.

Shivangi is required to furnish her contact number and residential address to the investigating officer and keep him updated in case of any change. At the time of the order, SPP Adv Seema Deshpande for state, ASI Avhad, and PI Sawardekar attached to EOW were present. Adv Abad Ponda a/w Adv Vinay Bhanushali, Adv. Sanmit Vaze for Shivangi Mehta were also presented in the court.

Case history

The Mehtas are the founders and directors of Bliss Consultants, which has 2,400 customers and a growth rate of 500 per cent across more than nine countries. However, their fortunes took a drastic turn when they were ensnared in a drug-related case by the Khaniyadhana police of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh in June 2023.

During a crackdown on drug rackets, the police arrested Nisaar Zubair Khan, a resident of Mira Road in Thane district, on June 9, 2023. Khan was found in possession of 142 grams of mephedrone (MD) valued at R17 lakh. During his interrogation, Khan implicated the couple, claiming that he had been working for them and transporting drugs across the country.

Upon receiving this information, officers from the Khaniyadhana police travelled to Mumbai, where the couple was detained and taken to the Aarey police station, where Khan identified them among 12 individuals. The couple was then released with a summons to appear before the authorities for further investigation.

However, the couple went into hiding in July 2023. Subsequently, an ex-MLA filed a case against them at Amboli police station, which was later transferred to the EOW. The investigation included charges under the MPID Act, and the authorities seized the couple's property and bank accounts.

Numerous FIRs, exceeding 150, were filed against the couple nationwide. Additionally, an FIR was lodged against Ashesh's father, Shailesh Mehta, by the Sohana police in SAS Nagar district, Punjab, on December 2. Shailesh was arrested and spent over two months in jail before being released on bail.

However, in the same month, the Madhya Pradesh police cleared the couple of involvement in the drug case, removing their names from the investigation. Nonetheless, the EOW police arrested the couple in December 2023, and they have been in jail since then.

210
No of days Shivangi spent in jail

150
Approx no of FIRs against the couple