Television actress Devoleena Bhattacharjee, best known for her role in the series Saath Nibhaana Saathiya, made headlines in December after she was questioned by the Mumbai police in connection with the mysterious murder of a diamantaire, Rajeshwar Udani. Sachin Pawar, a politician closely acquainted with the victim and rumoured to be Devoleena’s live-in partner, was arrested after the incident but the actress, while speaking to a leading daily, has now denied reports of her dating him.
During her interview, Devoleena dismissed reports of her dating Sachin as a “false claim” and clarified that she is not in a relationship with him. “Well, there were many false claims before that, too. It was said that I was detained by the police when in reality, I was questioned by the police. No, I was not in a relationship with Sachin. He is just a good friend and we were planning to make documentaries on Assam,” Devoleena told the daily.
[caption id="attachment_179104" align="aligncenter" width="962"] Devoleena and Sachin Pawar. Image Courtesy: Instagram[/caption]
Police officials interrogated Devoleena before Sachin was arrested because as per reports, Udani had spoken to her on the day he went missing and had also met her. In fact, Devoleena left Mumbai as soon as Udani went missing and returned on being contacted by the police. Devoleena also revealed certain points during her interrogation that helped police arrest Sachin along with Dinesh Pawar.
Asked how she got involved in the case, Devoleena told the daily that she met Sachin for the first time while she was campaigning for a political rally, adding that he also visited Assam with her following which they became “good friends”. In fact, Devoleena and Sachin also planned to work together, she said.
“Sachin Pawar is a good friend and I got to know him through my co-actor Ashish Sharma. Sachin and I worked on a music album together, too. I first met him when I was campaigning for a political rally. After that, I visited his office and we decided to do a few documentary films together on Assam, my home state. I got to know Sachin well and he wanted to visit Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati and he asked me if he could join me on my trip to Assam. When someone requests you, you generally don’t say ‘no’. Sachin came with me to Assam once. And thereafter, we became good friends and had plans to work together. The reason why my name cropped up in the investigation is because a few months ago, I had attended Udani’s daughter’s wedding. Thereafter, he and I met only thrice, during which I asked him for advice for my own business endeavours,” Devoleena added.
[caption id="attachment_52493" align="aligncenter" width="970"] Devoleena Bhattacharjee[/caption]
Rajeshwar Udani, 57, had been reported missing by his family from his office since November 28. The police had registered a missing case and launched a search for him. His mobile was tracked in Rabale, Navi Mumbai before it lost signal. After nearly a week, on December 4, since he remained untraced and the family suspected something amiss, the police registered a kidnapping case.