MUMBAI, Oct. 6 -- A special court under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act has ordered the transfer of businessman Jayant Sanjeeva Shetty, accused in a Rs.204-crore investor fraud case, from Byculla Prison to Arthur Road Jail after finding prima facie evidence that he used prison phone facilities to threaten a witness and solicit financial favours. The order, passed on Friday and made available on Saturday by judge RK Deshpande, came in response to an application filed by an intervener seeking Shetty's transfer to Pune's Yerwada Jail. The applicant alleged that Shetty was "using his political clout" to access prohibited devices and flout the Prison Manual. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is probing the case, supported the plea. Shetty, director of Shree Ramanjaneya Leasing and Finance Pvt Ltd, is accused of defrauding over 1,800 investors by promising high returns and defaulting on repayments since 2017. The EOW registered an FIR in 2020, alleging the company collected over Rs.204 crore from depositors across Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. In his six-page order, judge Deshpande noted that the allegations of misconduct were "to some extent consistent and supported" by both Shetty's own statements and a report submitted by the Byculla Prison superintendent. The superintendent's report stated that Shetty, who had been moved from Mumbai Central Jail to Byculla on September 7 for "security and administrative reasons," had threatened a witness, Nitesh Lalbhai Shah, during a prison phone call - prompting a non-cognisable complaint at Amboli police station. It further confirmed that between June 9 and 13, Shetty used the authorised prison phone system to ask his wife to add Shah on a conference call, during which he sought "financial help" from him. Terming the conduct "serious" and capable of affecting the investigation, the court said it could not "close its eyes and keep mum" once such facts had come to light, even though the request for transfer did not originate from jail authorities. "The allegations levelled by the applicant against the accused appear consistent... When such serious incidents like threatening witnesses have prima facie occurred, the conduct of the accused is definitely serious," the order stated. Partly allowing the plea, the court directed that Shetty be shifted to Arthur Road Central Jail under strict security, and instructed the Superintendent to "strictly comply" with guidelines in the Jail Manual, especially regarding the use of telephonic facilities. Judge Deshpande also noted that the incident pointed to "serious lapses in prison security and governance" and called for "immediate and stringent intervention" to ensure fairness in the proceedings....