Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez has been summoned to appear before the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing for questioning in connection with an extortion case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar on Monday, the actor’s legal team confirmed to CNN-News18 on Sunday.
The legal team arrived at the national capital late at night on Sunday and the actor is also likely to arrive in a while, sources said.
Fernandez was earlier quizzed for over eight hours by the Delhi Police on Wednesday about the gifts she took from Sukesh Chandrashekhar. The actor landed in trouble after the Enforcement Directorate named her as accused in Rs 215 crore extortion case involving the alleged conman. Actor Nora Fatehi and Pinky Irani, who allegedly introduced Fernandez to Chandrashekhar have also been questioned by police officials.
Irani was quizzed on Wednesday too along with actor Jacqueline Fernandez in connection with the case, police said.
Jacquiline Fernandez’s role in Multi-crore Scam
On August 17, the ED filed a chargesheet naming Fernandez as an accused in a multi-crore money laundering case linked to Chandrashekhar. According to the ED, Fatehi and Fernandez received luxury cars and other expensive gifts including bags from him.
According to a Free Press Journal report, a senior official with the EOW that questioned Fernandez has claimed that even though the Bachchan Pandey actress was advised by her co-stars to be cautious of Chandrashekhar, she did not listen to them. “She was advised by her co-stars to be wary of Sukesh but she continued meeting him and accepting expensive gifts like cars and pedigree pets,” the officer said.
The chargesheet claimed that the actress’ family and friends also ‘benefitted’ from her alleged relationship with Chandrashekhar. “Jacqueline Fernandez was well aware about the criminal antecedents of Sukesh Chandrashekhar and also the fact that Leena Maria Paul is his wife in February 2021. She consciously chose to overlook his criminal past and continued to indulge in financial transactions with him,” it read.
Who is Sukesh Chandrashekhar?
Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who is currently in jail for Rs 215 crore extortion case, is accused of cheating various people, including high-profile individuals such as former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi Singh.
Nora Fatehi
Nora Fatehi, her brother-in-law Mehboob alias Bobby and Irani were questioned for nearly five hours on Thursday by the Economic Offences Wing’s office at Mandir Marg. Police officials stated that Fatehi was summoned for the second time by the Delhi Police to clarify who received a car as a gift from Chandrashekhar’s wife.
“We had already questioned Fatehi but we wanted to seek details about who actually received a car as a gift from Chandrashekhar’s wife after she attended an event for the couple in Chennai and check details of the bank statements of her brother-in-law,” the officer was quoted as saying by PTI.
According to the police, the questioning revealed that Fatehi was approached by Irani on behalf of Chandrashekhar in January. Fatehi claimed that she went to attend the event in Chennai for a studio inauguration and Chandrashekhar’s wife gifted her an expensive bag and a car, instead of a fee.
Fatehi has claimed that she has never met Chandrashekhar in person but they have had limited conversations over WhatsApp. She was not aware of his illegal activities and broke all ties with him after she became suspicious over Chandrashekhar’s repeated attempts to contact Fatehi on phone, officials were quoted as saying.
Pinky Irani
According to officials, Irani has claimed to have appeared as an anchor on a Television show and is “well connected” to the film industry. “She is an associate of Chandrashekhar, officials said, adding she had previously contacted Fatehi’s brother-in-law and tried to lure him saying they can get him films.
