Witness wants to retract statement against Mamta Kulkarni, says he was given electric shocks

Mumbai: The Thane police's case against Bollywood actress Mamta Kulkarni in a multi-crore drug racket has taken a twist after one of the witnesses who testified before a magistrate about her involvement has now sought to retract his statement. In a major boost to Mamta Kulkarni, former Bollywood actress, a key accused, Jay Mulji Mukhi has filed an application in special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court  at Thane, saying his earlier statement implicating Mamta was extracted under duress. Mukhi, presently lodged in judicial custody at Thane Central prison has approached the court saying, he was tortured and coerced into making a false statement indicting Mamta Kulkarni. Mukhi, in his application to the court he state that he was arrested from Kathmandu, Nepal and was brought to Thane. He was beaten badly and police gave electric shocks on his private parts by certain officers. The same officers threatened him that if he wouldn’t follow their instruction they would arrest his sister and brother-in-law. They used to keep his father aged parents till late hours in their office to put pressure on him. He states that the officers forced him to give statement as per their wish in front of the Vashi magistrate under section 164 of Cr.P.C., contents of which were not true. Mukhi, had earlier stated that Kulkarni had attended a meeting in Kenya. But now he denies having ever met the actress. The Thane police claim Mamta, along with Vicky Goswami, is running an international drug racket from Kenya. Her elder sister Molina and an Axis Bank manager were questioned about Mamta’s accounts earlier. Based on Mukhi’s statement before the court, the police claim, Mamta was a part of meeting that took place in Mombasa’s Bliss Hotel discussing divestment of Avon Life Sciences limited with Mamta’s live-in partner and drug mafia Vicky Goswami. According to the police, Mamta was to be made the director of Avon Life Sciences Limited, from whose factory in Solapur the drugs were seized. Avon has 2 crore shares, each with a market price of Rs 35-40. At the first meeting, it was allegedly agreed upon that shares worth R11 lakh would be transferred in Mamta’s name and that she would be made the company’s director. The entire drug racket first came to light when Thane police arrested a Nigerian man on 18 April, after seizing around 18.5 tonne of ephedrine after raiding the premises of Avon Lifesciences Ltd in Maharashtra's Solapur district.