'Drugs Queen' Baby Patankar Missing Following Rejection Of Anticipatory Bail, Mumbai Crime Branch's Hunt On

Mumbai: Following the rejection of the Anticipatory Bail Application (ABA) of Shashikala Patankar, also known as Baby, in a Rs 1.97 crore cheating case on September 30, the Mumbai Crime Branch has launched a search operation, but she remains untraceable. According to a police officer, Baby had left her mobile phone at home.

An official from the Mumbai Crime Branch revealed that Baby was not present in the courtroom when the court rejected her petition. Unit One of the Mumbai Crime Branch is currently investigating the FIR filed against her. Officers from Unit One have visited Baby's residence in Worli in an attempt to locate her.

When the FIR was filed against Baby, she had applied for ABA in court. Subsequently, the court instructed the police to record Baby's statement and submit the report by September 30. The Crime Branch followed this directive, presenting the report in court, after which the petition was rejected.

The Crime Branch initiated an FIR in this case on September 14, leading to a notice being served to Baby under CrPC Act 41A. Subsequently, Baby applied for anticipatory bail, which was granted interim relief until September 30 by the court. The court instructed the Crime Branch to record the statements of Baby and Mundhe, and submit a report by the same date.

Case against Baby Patankar

Baby is accused of swindling money from a businessman by promising to sell him 5 kg of gold but failing to deliver. The case, amounting to Rs 1.97 crore, has been registered against Patankar and one of her associates, Kirit Suresh Chavan (61), owner of Runicha French Forward. Chavan's company specializes in custom clearance work. According to Chavan's statement to the police, he had planned to start a business of buying and selling gold, leading him to contact Parshuram Ramkishan Mundhe. Mundhe introduced Chavan to Baby, who showcased 6 kg 500 grams of gold. Chavan intended to buy 5 kg of gold, for which he transferred Rs 1.27 crore to Mundhe through RTGS and paid Rs 85 lakh in cash to Baby. Despite the payment, Chavan never received the gold.