Jacqueline Fernandez moves SC against charges in Rs 200-crore extortion case
Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court challenging the framing of charges against her in the Rs 200-crore money laundering case linked
Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court challenging the framing of charges against her in the Rs 200-crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. The development comes days after a Delhi court ordered the framing of charges against Jacqueline, her alleged boyfriend Chandrasekhar, his wife Leena Maria Paul and several others in connection with the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) probe into the alleged extortion racket, paving the way for trial proceedings to begin. Read Full Story According to the ED, Jacqueline was in constant touch with Chandrasekhar despite being aware of his criminal background and allegedly received expensive gifts from him through intermediary Pinky Irani. The agency claimed that the gifts were purchased using proceeds of crime generated through an alleged extortion racket run by Chandrashekar from inside jail.
Jacqueline, however, has consistently denied any wrongdoing and maintained that she was unaware of the alleged illegal origins of the gifts or money involved in the case. On May 30, the court ordered the framing of charges in two separate cases linked to the matter -- one in the ED's money laundering case and another in a parallel case registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell and later investigated by the Economic Offences Wing. The court framed charges against Chandrasekhar and 20 others for offences including extortion, cheating, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, and provisions under the Information Technology Act and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). According to investigators, Chandrasekhar operated a sophisticated criminal network from inside jail by impersonating senior government officials, including officers from the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law and Justice.
They allegedly used spoofed calls, encrypted applications and fake identities to extort money from businesswoman Aditi Singh, wife of former Ranbaxy promoter Shivinder Singh. The Delhi Police case was registered based on a complaint filed by Aditi Singh, who alleged that she received a phone call in 2020 from a person posing as a senior Union law ministry official who offered to help resolve legal issues related to her husband and her companies. The gang subsequently impersonated top government officials and extorted nearly Rs 217 crore from the complainant and her family on multiple occasions. Investigators later identified Chandrasekhar through technical surveillance of the cellphone allegedly used in the operation. At the time, he was already lodged in Rohini jail in connection with another case involving allegations that he accepted money from TTV Dhinakaran on the pretext of helping him retain the party's 'two leaves' symbol.
The BriefWire