An investigation has also revealed that Chandrashekar had a proper office inside the prison with a television, sofa, carpet etc. It appeared like his office and not jail, said a police officer.
Tag: Extortion case
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2 actressess ‘recreate’ their meeting with Sukesh; cops claim conman enjoys luxuries inside Tihar jail
By PTI
NEW DELHI: A Delhi Police team took two actresses inside the Tihar jail to “recreate” their alleged meeting with conmon Sukesh Chandrashekhar as part of a probe into a Rs 200-crore extortion case, officials said on Monday.
The police said ever since Chandrashekar has been jailed, the prison had become a hub of illegal activities which he carried out with the help of jail officials.
The team of Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing took actresses Nikki Tamboli and Sofia Singh to the Tihar’s central jail number one on Saturday to “recreate” their meetings with the ‘conman’ as part of the ongoing probe, a senior police officer said.
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.
The EOW has so far questioned Bollywood actors — Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi along with former TV anchor Pinky Irani and stylist Leepakshi Ellawadi, officials said.
During his stay in Tihar, many people including celebrities arrived in luxury cars and gained entry inside the jail by saying they were there to meet Chandrashekar, the officer said.
Tamboli has featured in a couple of reality shows while Singh has acted in Hindi and Telegu movies, officials said.
Videography of the entire recreation of the meeting was also done, police said.
“Many people visited Chandrashekhar inside the jail. However, we are only summoning those who are relevant to our investigation. Currently, Chandrashekar is jailed in Mandoli Prison,” the official said.
Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said, “We are doing a thorough investigation in the case and that’s why we have recreated the scene of meeting of the actresses with Chandrashekhar.
“That has given us a clear understanding of how this fraud was carried out. This will help us in prosecution.”
An investigation has also revealed that Chandrashekar had a proper office inside the prison with a television, sofa, carpet and other amenities. It appeared like his office and not jail, another police officer said.
“Jail security was compromised. Luxury cars used to go inside the prison after visitors claimed they were going to meet Sukesh. Security checks were not done for those going to meet Chandrashekar. He had so much money that he was spending crores on jail officials. No one stopped him since he had bribed jail officials,” he added.
Most of the time, Chandrashekhar introduced himself either as a business tycoon from the south, a movie producer or a television channel owner and lured actors by offering them roles in “his upcoming movies”, the police said.
The investigation of the case is still underway and so far, no clean chit has been given to any of the actors involved in the case, they said.
“Investigation also suggests that Chandrashekhar had contacted other actors as well with the same modus operandi. The two actors were introduced to the alleged conman through Pinki Irani who has already been questioned by the EOW team,” the officer said.
He added that these illegal activities of Chandrashekhar and his operations were carried out with the involvement of senior jails officials.
“We are investigating the role of each of these jail officials who were working for Chandrasekhar. Under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, six Tihar jail officials have already been arrested. The role of other jail officials are under scrutiny,” the officer said.
NEW DELHI: A Delhi Police team took two actresses inside the Tihar jail to “recreate” their alleged meeting with conmon Sukesh Chandrashekhar as part of a probe into a Rs 200-crore extortion case, officials said on Monday.
The police said ever since Chandrashekar has been jailed, the prison had become a hub of illegal activities which he carried out with the help of jail officials.
The team of Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing took actresses Nikki Tamboli and Sofia Singh to the Tihar’s central jail number one on Saturday to “recreate” their meetings with the ‘conman’ as part of the ongoing probe, a senior police officer said.
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.
The EOW has so far questioned Bollywood actors — Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi along with former TV anchor Pinky Irani and stylist Leepakshi Ellawadi, officials said.
During his stay in Tihar, many people including celebrities arrived in luxury cars and gained entry inside the jail by saying they were there to meet Chandrashekar, the officer said.
Tamboli has featured in a couple of reality shows while Singh has acted in Hindi and Telegu movies, officials said.
Videography of the entire recreation of the meeting was also done, police said.
“Many people visited Chandrashekhar inside the jail. However, we are only summoning those who are relevant to our investigation. Currently, Chandrashekar is jailed in Mandoli Prison,” the official said.
Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said, “We are doing a thorough investigation in the case and that’s why we have recreated the scene of meeting of the actresses with Chandrashekhar.
“That has given us a clear understanding of how this fraud was carried out. This will help us in prosecution.”
An investigation has also revealed that Chandrashekar had a proper office inside the prison with a television, sofa, carpet and other amenities. It appeared like his office and not jail, another police officer said.
“Jail security was compromised. Luxury cars used to go inside the prison after visitors claimed they were going to meet Sukesh. Security checks were not done for those going to meet Chandrashekar. He had so much money that he was spending crores on jail officials. No one stopped him since he had bribed jail officials,” he added.
Most of the time, Chandrashekhar introduced himself either as a business tycoon from the south, a movie producer or a television channel owner and lured actors by offering them roles in “his upcoming movies”, the police said.
The investigation of the case is still underway and so far, no clean chit has been given to any of the actors involved in the case, they said.
“Investigation also suggests that Chandrashekhar had contacted other actors as well with the same modus operandi. The two actors were introduced to the alleged conman through Pinki Irani who has already been questioned by the EOW team,” the officer said.
He added that these illegal activities of Chandrashekhar and his operations were carried out with the involvement of senior jails officials.
“We are investigating the role of each of these jail officials who were working for Chandrasekhar. Under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, six Tihar jail officials have already been arrested. The role of other jail officials are under scrutiny,” the officer said.
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Actor Nora Fatehi questioned by Delhi Police in Sukesh Chandrashekhar extortion case
By PTI
NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Nora Fatehi was on Thursday questioned for nearly five hours by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing for investigation in connection with an extortion case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, officials said.
This was the second time that she was summoned for questioning by the Delhi Police for her alleged role in the case, they said. Fatehi was questioned alongside Pinki Irani who allegedly introduced her to Chandrashekhar.
Irani was quizzed on Wednesday too along with actor Jacqueline Fernandez in connection with the case, police said. A senior police officer said both Irani and Fatehi joined the probe at the Economic Offences Wing’s office at Mandir Marg.
“Fatehi, her brother-in-law Mehboob alias Bobby and Irani were questioned for nearly five hours. All of them cooperated during the investigation and they were provided lunch. Since Irani had approached Fatehi’s brother-in-law as well, all the three were also confronted with each other,” he said.
“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 added.
Fatehi and her brother-in-law were given a questionnaire which had 30 questions. They answered all questions, he added. Interrogation has 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 fee, the officer said.
However, Fatehi has never met Chandrashekhar in person but they have had limited conversations over WhatsApp and she was not aware of his illegal activities, the officer added.
Chandrashekhar’s wife had insisted Fatehi to take the car as a gift instead of charging fee for the Chennai event, he said. After the event, Chandrashekhar repeatedly tried to contact Fatehi on phone but she became suspicious and broke all ties with him, the officer said.
In January this year, Irani had approached Fatehi’s brother-in-law and he received the gifted car instead of Fatehi due to certain legal constraints, he said, adding it is part of the investigation.
“The car received as a gift was later sold by him,” the officer said.
“Irani 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. She also contacted Fatehi’s borther-in-law and tried to lure him saying they can get him films,” he said.
Irani admitted to having contacted Bobby in a bid to influence him to get into films, police said. As part of the investigation, Irani will be questioned again along with other people who are connected to the case, they said.
“They will be questioned to seek further clarity and joint the connecting dots,” the officer said.
Though the agency had questioned Fatehi for six to seven hours on September 2 and recorded her statement, she is being further interrogated as there are “certain unanswered questions”, he said.
Further investigation has revealed that Chandrashekhar had offered a motorcycle to Fernandez’s agent Prashant on his birthday but he declined to take it.
However, Chandrashekhar left the two-wheeler and its keys at Prashant’s place, police said, adding the motorcycle has been seized.
Fatehi was earlier questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case. On Wednesday, Fernandez was questioned for over eight hours. According to police, she cooperated during the probe and might also be called again for questioning.
Chandrashekhar, who is currently in jail, is accused of cheating many people, including high-profile individuals such as former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi Singh.
On August 17, the ED filed a charge sheet 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 from him.
NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Nora Fatehi was on Thursday questioned for nearly five hours by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing for investigation in connection with an extortion case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, officials said.
This was the second time that she was summoned for questioning by the Delhi Police for her alleged role in the case, they said. Fatehi was questioned alongside Pinki Irani who allegedly introduced her to Chandrashekhar.
Irani was quizzed on Wednesday too along with actor Jacqueline Fernandez in connection with the case, police said. A senior police officer said both Irani and Fatehi joined the probe at the Economic Offences Wing’s office at Mandir Marg.
“Fatehi, her brother-in-law Mehboob alias Bobby and Irani were questioned for nearly five hours. All of them cooperated during the investigation and they were provided lunch. Since Irani had approached Fatehi’s brother-in-law as well, all the three were also confronted with each other,” he said.
“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 added.
Fatehi and her brother-in-law were given a questionnaire which had 30 questions. They answered all questions, he added. Interrogation has 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 fee, the officer said.
However, Fatehi has never met Chandrashekhar in person but they have had limited conversations over WhatsApp and she was not aware of his illegal activities, the officer added.
Chandrashekhar’s wife had insisted Fatehi to take the car as a gift instead of charging fee for the Chennai event, he said. After the event, Chandrashekhar repeatedly tried to contact Fatehi on phone but she became suspicious and broke all ties with him, the officer said.
In January this year, Irani had approached Fatehi’s brother-in-law and he received the gifted car instead of Fatehi due to certain legal constraints, he said, adding it is part of the investigation.
“The car received as a gift was later sold by him,” the officer said.
“Irani 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. She also contacted Fatehi’s borther-in-law and tried to lure him saying they can get him films,” he said.
Irani admitted to having contacted Bobby in a bid to influence him to get into films, police said. As part of the investigation, Irani will be questioned again along with other people who are connected to the case, they said.
“They will be questioned to seek further clarity and joint the connecting dots,” the officer said.
Though the agency had questioned Fatehi for six to seven hours on September 2 and recorded her statement, she is being further interrogated as there are “certain unanswered questions”, he said.
Further investigation has revealed that Chandrashekhar had offered a motorcycle to Fernandez’s agent Prashant on his birthday but he declined to take it.
However, Chandrashekhar left the two-wheeler and its keys at Prashant’s place, police said, adding the motorcycle has been seized.
Fatehi was earlier questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case. On Wednesday, Fernandez was questioned for over eight hours. According to police, she cooperated during the probe and might also be called again for questioning.
Chandrashekhar, who is currently in jail, is accused of cheating many people, including high-profile individuals such as former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi Singh.
On August 17, the ED filed a charge sheet 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 from him.
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Will give 3-day notice to Sameer Wankhede before arrest: Mumbai Police to Bombay HC
By Express News Service
MUMBAI: The city police on Thursday assured the Bombay High Court that it will not arrest the NCB’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede without giving him three days’ notice.
The assurance came after Wankhede moved the court seeking protection. Wankhede filed a plea seeking an urgent hearing. He said he feared that police would arrest him over allegations of extortion against him in the case related to drugs-on-cruise involving actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan.
His lawyer and senior advocate Atul Nanda mentioned the petition before a bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and S V Kotwal, seeking interim protection from arrest. Wankhede was a senior officer of the Narcotics Control Bureau and not a “drug peddler”, the lawyer said.
ALSO READ | Mumbai police set up team for inquiry into ‘extortion bid’ in Aryan case
Besides a direction to police not to arrest him, the petition sought that the allegations against him be probed by an independent agency such as the CBI or NIA.
Wankhede feared that the Mumbai police’s probe against him was likely to be biassed and unfair, it said. He was a “decorated officer” of the NCB who was being subjected to “public vilification” following Aryan Khan’s arrest, the petition said.
Prabhakar Sail, the personal bodyguard of now a key witness in the Aryan Khan case Kiran Gosavi, in his affidavit alleged that Wankhede and his associates had demanded Rs 25 crore from actor Shahrukh Khan to release his son Aryan. He and another witness Shekhar Kamble also alleged that Sameer Wankhede had taken their signature on ten blank pages and made them witnesses.
Meanwhile, state minister Nawab Malik asked why Wankhede does not trust the Mumbai Police? “When he was arresting and harassing people on false charges, he was enjoying the limelight. Now, he is running pillar to post to save himself. We will expose him,” Malik said. He tweeted: “Picture (movie) Abhi Baki hai dost.”
Nawab Malik claimed that the wedding of Sameer and Shabhana was done according to Islamic rituals and posted their nikah-nama on social media to substantiate his claim that Wankhede concealed his Muslim identity and forged documents to claim SC quota for the job.
ALSO READ | Aryan Khan gets bail in drugs-on-cruise case, to be freed on Friday
Earlier in the day, Sameer Wankhde’s wife Kranti Redkar wrote a letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray that as they are a Marathi family, the Shiv Sena should protect them from personal attacks. She referred to Thackeray as a brother, reminded him of the Balasaheb Thackeray’s days of protecting Marathi Manoos, and said they expected the same from his son.
Meanwhile, Sameer Wankhde’s first father-in-law Zaheed Quraishi said they always knew the Wankhede family as followers of Islam. “In 2006, when Sameer and Shabana got married, Sameer was a practising Muslim. He would also occasionally visit mosques,” Quraishi said.
“In fact, I always knew Dnyandev as Dawood Wankhede. We agreed to the wedding of my daughter Shabana with Sameer because we had cordial relations with his late mother Zaheeda,” Dr Qureshi said, adding that the marriage between Sameer and Shabana was an arranged one and it did not last long as the duo got divorced in the same month.
Quraishi further said since the controversy over Sameer Wankhede’s religion, he was being questioned by people about how he allowed his daughter to marry a Hindu. “It became an issue of prestige for me and my family. Hence, I am making it clear that when the marriage between my daughter Shabana and Sameer took place, the groom was practising Islam. His father’s name was Dawood,” he said.
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Extortion case against Param Bir Singh: Two taken into custody for questioning
By PTI
THANE: Two people named in an extortion FIR registered in Thane against former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh and others have been taken into custody for questioning, an official said on Sunday.
The custody of Sunil Jain and Sanjay Punamiya was taken from Mumbai police which had arrested them in connection with another case.
Jain and Punamiya, who are among the five accused in the Rs 5 crore extortion case registered at the Kopri police station in Thane on the complaint of the kin of a builder, were remanded in police custody till August 12 by a local court, he said.
Top police official Singh, DCP (Crime) Parag Manere, and Manoj Ghotekar are the other three named in the case, he said.
Another FIR was registered against Singh and 27 others at the Thane Nagar police station police last week to probe a case of alleged extortion filed by builder Ketan Tanna.
No arrest has been made in this connection yet.
Singh was shunted out from the post of Mumbai police chief in March this year in the aftermath of the recovery of an SUV with explosives near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in south Mumbai.
The IPS officer subsequently accused then state home minister Anil Deshmukh of corruption.
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Extortion gang member held for blackmailing Congress MLA using WhatsApp
By PTI
CHHATARPUR: Police have arrested a 19-year-old man from an inter-state cyber extortion gang in Rajasthan in connection with the case of blackmailing a Congress MLA in Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Sunday.MLA Neeraj Dixit, who represents the Maharajpur seat in Chhatarpur, lodged a police complaint here on May 22 alleging that an unidentified person made a video call on WhatsApp to him and performed obscene acts, and later tried to blackmail him with the clip.
Based on information received from the district police’s cyber wing, a man, identified as Adil, was arrested from Nakcha Ka Vaas village under Sikri tehsil of Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, Chhatarpur’s Superintendent of Police Sachin Sharma said in a press note on Sunday.
Out of three mobile phones seized from the accused, one contained the objectionable video using which the accused had made the extortion attempt, he said.
Another mobile phone used to make threatening calls for extortion was also recovered from the accused.
In the release, the police official said the accused admitted to the crime during questioning.
The accused has admitted that he used to collect information about people and their mobile numbers through Facebook, Sharma said in the release.
The accused would pose as a woman and record WhatsApp video calls made to the victim through a screen recorder by showing pre-recorded videos of females, the release said.
He used to extort money from people by threatening them to make the video call recorded by him viral on online platforms, it said.
The accused told the police that he learnt this (modus operandi) from a person named Ramzan, belongingto the same village.
Ramzan and his team operates an organised racket in which they get fake SIM cards and bank accounts from people of different states, mainly Odisha, and pay them 20 per cent of the extorted money, the release said.
The interrogation also revealed that the accused had extorted Rs 14.
22 lakh from 21 people in different states, including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Karnataka, it said.
Earlier, on the basis of the MLA’s complaint, the police had registered a case under section 385 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.
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UP Police gets custody of Mukhtar Ansari, ex-gangster on way back to Banda jail
By Express News Service
LUCKNOW: As the contingent of Uttar Pradesh Police is on its way back after getting the custody of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari from Ropar jail authorities, an unprecedented security blanket has been thrown in and around Banda jail where the BSP MLA from Mau would be lodged.The Punjab Police handed over Ansari to its UP counterparts on Tuesday morning and is escorting the cavalcade bringing the gangster back to UP till the state border.
As part of the security upgradation, hotels and guest houses around the Banda prison are being thoroughly checked. The city outpost in-charge has been instructed to carry out verification of all the visitors staying in the hotels and guesthouses.
Sources said Ansari family’s acquaintance, with whom the family was staying earlier in Khyampar when the mafia don was incarcerated in Banda jail before being taken by the Punjab police in 2019, have also been approached.
The ambulance that was stationed outside the Banda prison on Monday was missing on Tuesday. It has reportedly been reserved for the gangster during his stay in Banda jail.
The UP cops arrived in Punjab in the wee hours on Tuesday to take Ansari into custody. An ambulance also arrived at Rupnagar police station to take him to Banda. The police contingent accompanying the gangster-turned-politician is expected to reach Banda jail by Wednesday morning.
As per sources, a squad of commandos of the Punjab Police accompanying Ansari for his safety.
In a letter to the UP Additional Chief Secretary (Home), the Punjab Home Department had asked the Yogi government to take Ansari’s custody by April 8. Ansari had been lodged in Ropar jail in connection with an extortion case since January 2019.
Meanwhile, the Ropar police barricaded many areas of the city and conducting security checking on all the routes.
It may be recalled that Ansari, who is wanted in Uttar Pradesh in a number of criminal cases, was last Wednesday taken to Mohali court in an ambulance from the Rupnagar jail in connection with the hearing in a case of extortion dated back to 2019.
The mysterious ambulance had a UP number traced to Barabanki district and registered in the name of one Dr. Alka Rai of Mau. The case has been lodged against Dr. Rai for getting the vehicle registered in her name on the basis of fake documents.
Meanwhile, the Barabanki police arrested one Rajnath Yadav who had got the vehicle registered in the name of Dr. Rai by producing her fake documents and also coning her to sign the papers of the vehicle in the name of a charity.
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UP Police gets custody of Mukhtar Ansari, ex-gangster on way back to Banda jail
By Express News Service
LUCKNOW: As the contingent of Uttar Pradesh Police is on its way back after getting the custody of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari from Ropar jail authorities, an unprecedented security blanket has been thrown in and around Banda jail where the BSP MLA from Mau would be lodged.The Punjab Police handed over Ansari to its UP counterparts on Tuesday morning and is escorting the cavalcade bringing the gangster back to UP till the state border.
As part of the security upgradation, hotels and guest houses around the Banda prison are being thoroughly checked. The city outpost in-charge has been instructed to carry out verification of all the visitors staying in the hotels and guesthouses.
Sources said Ansari family’s acquaintance, with whom the family was staying earlier in Khyampar when the mafia don was incarcerated in Banda jail before being taken by the Punjab police in 2019, have also been approached.
The ambulance that was stationed outside the Banda prison on Monday was missing on Tuesday. It has reportedly been reserved for the gangster during his stay in Banda jail.
The UP cops arrived in Punjab in the wee hours on Tuesday to take Ansari into custody. An ambulance also arrived at Rupnagar police station to take him to Banda. The police contingent accompanying the gangster-turned-politician is expected to reach Banda jail by Wednesday morning.
As per sources, a squad of commandos of the Punjab Police accompanying Ansari for his safety.
In a letter to the UP Additional Chief Secretary (Home), the Punjab Home Department had asked the Yogi government to take Ansari’s custody by April 8. Ansari had been lodged in Ropar jail in connection with an extortion case since January 2019.
Meanwhile, the Ropar police barricaded many areas of the city and conducting security checking on all the routes.
It may be recalled that Ansari, who is wanted in Uttar Pradesh in a number of criminal cases, was last Wednesday taken to Mohali court in an ambulance from the Rupnagar jail in connection with the hearing in a case of extortion dated back to 2019.
The mysterious ambulance had a UP number traced to Barabanki district and registered in the name of one Dr. Alka Rai of Mau. The case has been lodged against Dr. Rai for getting the vehicle registered in her name on the basis of fake documents.
Meanwhile, the Barabanki police arrested one Rajnath Yadav who had got the vehicle registered in the name of Dr. Rai by producing her fake documents and also coning her to sign the papers of the vehicle in the name of a charity.