In her complaint registered on March 20, Patel, a Sion resident, stated she was a dancer by profession and knew Shrivastav from September 2004. She said she had also done dance shows for Shrivastav in Dubai.

Patel alleged that Shrivastav had promised to marry her and had bought a MHADA flat near Oshiwara. She said they even had a child, who was living with Shrivastav. She claimed that when things went sour between them, he forced her to sign some documents and sold the flat. She also said that he had threatened her.

Shrivastav, a divorcee, who shuttles between Dubai, Mumbai and Delhi admitted to his relationship with Patel, but denied shirking his responsibilities. “I paid her around Rs 30,000 every month. In fact, she was the one who disowned our child,” he said. He also alleged that she was the one who sold the flat and duped him of the money she made from the sale.

Shirvastav’s lawyer, Manoj Mirchandani, said he was in Mumbai on a business tour and had called Patel to talk about their problem. According to Mirchandani, the court observed that the prosecution had no evidence against Shrivastav and released him on a bail of Rs 10,000.

Senior Inspector Kiran Sonone of Oshiwara police station, said, “Shrivastav was in custody for six days. We will file the chargesheet as per the inquiry.” He added that the police would not challenge the court’s order.