Bollywood starlet Preeti Jain on Wednesday alleged that top police officers had 'coerced' her to become an approver in the case of conspiracy to kill film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar as they wanted to 'target' gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli.
"It is a big conspiracy to nail me in the alleged crime," Preeti, who was released from Byculla jail on Wednesday evening after a sessions court granted her bail on Tuesday, said.
Preeti alleged Deputy Commissioner of Police Santosh Rastogi and Assistant Commissioner of Police Mansi Mohite had come to see her in Nagpada jail on September 20 after she was subjected to a narco-analysis tests and 'pressurised' her to become an approver.
"They told me that police was aware about my innocence but said they wanted to target Arun Gawli, the main culprit in this case and by becoming an approver they said I would go free," Preeti said.
"But I did not relent," she said.
Preeti said the charges against her were false and denied that she had given contract money to Gawli to kill Bhandarkar.
The starlet said she could never do this to anyone leave alone Bhandarkar.
Preeti said she had gone to meet Gawli only to persuade him to take up her case against Bhandarkar in the state assembly as he was an independent legislator.
She said prior to this she had met Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and social activist Anna Hazare and had contacted Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan. But they were too busy to take up her case, she said.
Preeti, who has earlier filed a case alleging that Madhur Bhandarkar sexually exploited her, said she had met Gawli because she is feminist and wanted women's issues along with her own, to figure in the state assembly.
The starlet flashed her photograph with social activist Anna Hazare to show the media that she had even met him to take up her case.
Preeti demanded that the police should make public the narco-analysis test of Gawli aide Naresh Pardeshi.
She was replying to a question on media reports that alleged that Pardeshi had confessed during his narco-analysis test that Bhandarkar had paid even more contract money to Arun Gawli to restrain him from executing Preeti's contract.
Preeti asserted that she had not given any confession to police nor had she disclosed during the tests that she paid Gawli or his men for killing Bhandarkar.
She said on her own will she had given consent for brain mapping test.
The starlet also pointed out discrepancies in police allegations about contract money reportedly given by her to Gawli and his men.
"This only shows that charges against me are false", Preeti alleged.