Actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who arrived at the office of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police on Wednesday morning, left after almost 8 hours of questioning in connection with her links with conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar in an ongoing investigation into a scam worth Rs 215 crore.
During her questioning, Fernandez was allowed an hour break for lunch. The actress was previously summoned twice but did not appear on both occasions.
She entered the Delhi Police’s EOW office from the back gate at around 11:20 am.
“We will call Jacqueline again when required. Pinky (Irani, Sukesh’s aide) will also be called. It won’t be right to take names right now. We will call more people. Jacqueline was summoned by ED, she doesn’t have scope to deviate. She is answering and cooperating with us,” Ravinder Yadav, Special CP, was quoted by ANI as saying.
Fernandez answered all the questions being put to her by the EOW and cooperated in the investigation so far, sources said.
The actress, who is being investigated over allegations of receiving luxury gifts from Chandrashekhar bought using the proceeds of crime, was earlier summoned by the Delhi Police on August 29 when she requested a postponement citing her schedule. She was then summoned for September 12 but she again did not appear.
Sources said that the actress was questioned about her relationship with conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar and about the gifts she received from him. The actress was also quizzed over how frequently she met Chandrashekhar and how often did she contact him over the phone.
Sources said she submitted some documents to support her statements. The officials questioned both Fernandez and Pinky Irani so that there wasn’t any contradiction in their statements.
According to the details accessed by CNN-News18, the actress received expensive gifts from Chandrashekhar which included luxury cars Maserati and a Porsche, which cost above Rs 1 crore. She also received a Mini Cooper Car which costs another Rs 50 lakh.
Fernandez also received four Persian cats, designer bags from Gucci and Chanel, and a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes.
According to the list of gifts, accessed by CNN-News18, there are a total of 20 pieces of jewellery, 65 pairs of shoes, 47 cloth items, 32 bags and 9 paintings among other things.
Meanwhile, another Bollywood actor Nora Fatehi has been called in for questioning tomorrow at 11 am. Earlier this month, Fatehi was questioned by the EOW for six to seven hours in the case and her statement was recorded.
Chandrashekhar, who is currently in jail, is accused of cheating various people, including high-profile individuals such as former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi Singh. Fatehi was earlier questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case.
On August 17, the ED filed a charge sheet naming Fernandez as an accused in a multi-crore money laundering case linked to Chandrashekhar.
Sukesh Chandrashekhar, a native of Bengaluru in Karnataka, is currently lodged in a Delhi jail and faces over 10 criminal cases.
