The Mumbai Sessions Court recently approved bail for Shivangi Mehta, director of operations at Bliss Consultants. The court ordered the release of Shivangi, who spent 210 days underground and more than 100 days in jail following her arrest, under various conditions. Her husband Ashesh Mehta’s bail application is scheduled to be heard on April 29.
The Mehtas are the founders and directors of Bliss Consultants, which had 2,400 customers and a growth rate of 500% across more than nine countries. However, their fortunes took a turn when they were ensnared in a drug-related case by the Kh.yadhana 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 Kh.yadhana 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.
