In a significant development in a complex legal case intertwining assault, miscarriage, and alleged extortion, two women were granted bail by a Mumbai court. The duo, identified as Marathi actor Hemlata Patkar (alias Bane) and her friend Amreena Zaveri (alias Fernandes), had been arrested for allegedly demanding a staggering Rs 10 crore from a businessman.
The Bail Order and Allegations of False Arrest
Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Patil granted bail to the two women on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each. Their legal counsel strongly contested the charges, arguing that both Hemlata Patkar and Amreena Zaveri were falsely arrested. They were booked under sections 308 (7) and 61 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to extortion and criminal conspiracy.
The arrest was made last week by the city police's anti-extortion cell. The complaint was filed by businessman Arvind Goyal, who alleged that the two women threatened and blackmailed him. The core of their demand was Rs 10 crore, which they allegedly said would ensure they did not oppose the bail of his son in a separate, deeply serious case.
The Root of the Case: A Violent Assault and Miscarriage
The extortion claim is directly linked to a horrific earlier incident. Last month, the Bombay High Court took the stern step of cancelling the bail granted to a 25-year-old Goregaon resident, Rhythm Goyal—Arvind Goyal's son. The court acted after an intervention petition filed by Amreena Zaveri.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered at Amboli police station, the traumatic event occurred on November 15. Amreena Zaveri, after completing her shift around 1:30 PM, entered a lift. Rhythm Goyal, accompanied by two men and a woman in an inebriated state, boarded the same lift. The situation escalated when Goyal allegedly pointed a laser torch at her.
When she objected, he reportedly abused her with a sexist remark. A physical altercation ensued where she tried to take the torch away. Goyal allegedly hit her with the torch, and his friends joined the assault. One punched her on the nose, while another tried to strike her with a liquor bottle. In a desperate plea, Zaveri told them to stop as she was pregnant. Shockingly, Rhythm Goyal then punched her in the stomach. She was eventually rescued by bouncers and rushed to a hospital, where she tragically learned she had suffered a miscarriage.
The Alleged Extortion Plot
Following the bail proceedings for Rhythm Goyal in the assault case, Hemlata Patkar allegedly contacted the complainant, Arvind Goyal. Posing as a relative of Amreena Zaveri, she reportedly offered to "settle" the matter. Her proposition, as per the allegations, was that while the case could not be formally withdrawn, the witnesses could turn hostile and no objections would be raised in the Supreme Court—but only for a hefty payment of Rs 10 crore. This alleged offer prompted Arvind Goyal to approach the police, leading to the arrests for extortion and conspiracy.
The case presents a tangled web where a severe criminal assault leading to pregnancy loss has spiraled into separate allegations of a high-stakes extortion attempt. With the two women now out on bail, the legal proceedings in both the assault and extortion cases are set to continue, drawing significant attention to issues of violence against women and the integrity of judicial processes.
