ED finds ‘conman’ Chandrasekhar approached a number of B-town actors, met fashions in Tihar

By PTI

NEW DELHI: An alleged affiliate of jailed ‘conman’ Sukesh Chandrasekhar “projected” him as a enterprise tycoon in order that he might get in contact with numerous feminine fashions and actors and she or he even took a few of them to satisfy him contained in the Tihar jail in 2018, the ED has mentioned in a not too long ago filed cost sheet.

Pinky Irani alias Angel, 53, was arrested on this case by the company in December final 12 months. She was not too long ago granted bail by a Delhi court docket.

She has been accused by the Enforcement Directorate of indulging in cash laundering and allegedly serving to Chandrasekhar in getting in contact with actor Jacqueline Fernandez and sending her costly presents on his behalf.

Fernandez has been questioned a number of instances on this case. Dancer-actor Nora Fatehi has additionally recorded her assertion with the ED prior to now.

A supplementary cost sheet, detailing the position of Mumbai-based Irani within the cash laundering case towards 32-year-old Chandrasekhar and others, was filed by the ED early this month earlier than a court docket right here.

The company, on this prosecution criticism, has hooked up replies despatched to it by Bollywood actors Bhumi Pednekar, Sara Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor, who have been equally approached by Chandrasekhar allegedly by means of Irani.

Chandrasekhar and his spouse Leena Maria Paul are being probed by the Delhi Police in addition to the ED for allegedly dishonest and extorting cash from some wealthy folks, together with people like former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s spouse Aditi Singh.

Investigation by the businesses discovered that Chandrasekhar, whereas he was lodged within the Rohini jail right here, allegedly ran an extortion racket utilizing cellphone spoofing know-how. He was later shifted to the Tihar jail.

The ED is monitoring the beneficiaries of this allegedly extorted cash and the whole funds path.

So far, the company has not known as these actors or fashions as accused as they may very well be witnesses in figuring out the proceeds of crime.

In this pursuit, the company recorded the statements of some younger fashions whose hyperlinks it obtained after questioning Irani.

At least three out of the 4 fashions instructed the ED that they have been “introduced” to Chandrasekhar by Irani and so they even met him unrestricted on the Tihar jail in 2018 alongside together with her.

“Pinky Irani was a close confidant and advisor of Chandrasekhar. Not only did she create a facade of being a businessman for Chandrasekhar, she also allowed him to project himself as a man of means and a free man by ensuring that he could deliver what he wanted,” the ED claimed.

According to the cost sheet, Bhumi Pednekar submitted her reply to the company early this 12 months stating that Irani messaged her saying she was the “vice president (of) HR News Express Post and informed her that their group chairman (Chandrasekhar) is a fan of hers and wanted to speak with her about a huge project and also wanted to gift her a car.”

The 32-year-old actor instructed the company that “she did not receive any gifts from Chandrasekhar or his associates, including Pinky Irani, nor has she ever met or had any sort of personal interaction, either social or professional, with them.”

Sara Ali Khan instructed the ED that she didn’t know anybody by the identify of Sukesh Chandrasekhar or Shekhar however somebody within the identify of “Mr. Suraj Reddy did WhatsApp her on 21.05.2021 saying he would like to gift her a car as a family gesture and mentioned that his CEO Mrs Irani had tried to contact her.”

Khan, 26, mentioned the Reddy particular person continued to insist on giving her presents and she or he consistently refused the identical. “However, after many attempts of refusing him, she did agree on receiving a box of chocolates from him and thereafter he sent a Franck Muller watch along with the chocolates,” the ED mentioned.

Janhvi Kapoor instructed the ED that whereas she was not approached by Chandrasekhar or Irani, she was contacted by a girl who recognized herself as Leena from an organization known as Nail Artistry concerning being a star visitor on the launch of a salon in Bengaluru.

She wrote to the company saying she inaugurated the salon in July final 12 months and acquired a branded luxurious bag and knowledgeable charge of Rs 18.94 lakh in her checking account. She despatched an announcement of the transaction to the ED.

Nail Artistry is acknowledged to be the enterprise enterprise of Leena Maria Paul. “It was established that by projecting Sukesh Chandrasekhar as a business tycoon she (Irani) established his contacts with various models/actresses and hid his real identity and got various models/actresses in touch with Chandrasekhar.”

She took a few of them to Tihar Jail to satisfy Sukesh Chandrasekhar and she or he impersonated as Alka Kumar, P Kumar, Angel Ok, CFO of Jaya TV/Sun TV and CFO of News Express Post for contacting these fashions/actresses, the ED alleged within the cost sheet.

The identical modus operandi was utilized by Irani and Chandrasekhar to method Jacqueline Fernandez by means of her make-up artist S Muthathil, it mentioned.

The ED has arrested Chandrasekhar, Paul, Irani, two different co-accused, Pradeep Ramnani and Deepak Ramnani on this case.

In August final 12 months, it had raided a few of Chandrasekhar’s premises and seized a sea-facing bungalow in Chennai, Rs 82.5 lakh in money and over a dozen luxurious vehicles.

In an announcement, it had claimed that Chandrasekhar is a “known conman” and is being probed by the Delhi Police in a case of alleged felony conspiracy, dishonest and extortion to the tune of about Rs 200 crore.

“Chandrasekhar is the mastermind of this fraud. He has been part of the crime world since the age of 17. He has multiple FIRs against him,” the ED had mentioned.

Despite being within the jail, it mentioned, Chandrasekhar “did not stop conning” folks.

“He (utilizing a mobile phone procured illegally in jail) with the assistance of know-how made spoofed calls to dupe folks because the numbers displayed on the known as occasion’s cellphone quantity belonged to senior authorities officers.

“While speaking (from prison) to these persons, he claimed to be a government officer offering to help people for a price,” the ED had claimed.