New Delhi: Delhi's Patiala House Court has extended actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s interim bail till 10th November in connection with the Rs 200 crore extortion case involving multi-millionaire conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
The court has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to provide a chargesheet and other relevant documents to all parties. Hearing on regular bail and other pending applications is now scheduled for 10 November. Jacqueline appeared before Patiala House Court on Saturday for the hearing of her bail plea.
Earlier the actress was granted interim bail on a bail bond of Rs 50,000. Additional Sessions Judge Shailender Malik had sought a response from the ED on the bail plea and an interim bail was granted to her.
On August 17, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed its second supplementary charge sheet in the case naming her as an accused.
Jacqueline and another Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi, both had already recorded their statements as witnesses in the case.
The probe agency had also attached fixed deposits worth Rs 7.2 crore belonging to Fernandez. It termed the gifts and properties as "proceeds" of crime received by the actress.
Jacqueline’s stylist Leepakshi Ellawadi was also questioned. Ellawadi reportedly admitted that she knew about the relationship shared by Fernandez and Chandrashekhara and that Sukesh had given her Rs 3 crores to buy clothes and gifts for Jacqueline.
Chandrashekhar had reportedly contacted Ellawadi to take suggestions from her on the brands of clothes worn by the Bollywood actor in his bid to woo her.
"He contacted Ellawadi last year to know about the brands and types of clothing preferred by Fernandez. He took suggestions from her and also handed over Rs. 3 crore to her to buy her favourite clothes. The entire amount received by Chandrashekhar was spent by Ellawadi to purchase gifts for Fernandez," PTI quoted an official as saying.
According to PTI, Leepakshi also told police that as soon as the news about Chandrashekhar''s arrest broke out, Fernandez cut all her ties with him.
There were also reports that Jacqueline wanted to marry Sukesh. According to a news report by ANI, Sukesh Chandrashekhar was the "man of her dreams". It was also stated by Special Commissioner of Police, EOW, Ravinder Yadav to ANI that the actress maintained contact with the conman even after his illegal actions were made public. The statement said, “There is more trouble for Jacqueline Fernandez as she did not cut ties with Sukesh Chandrasekhar even after knowing his criminal antecedents. But Nora Fatehi did disconnect herself once she suspected that something is fishy.”
Chandrashekhar was arrested for allegedly defrauding and extorting several high-profile individuals, including Aditi Singh, the wife of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh.
In April last year, Chandrashekhar was arrested in another money laundering case linked to the 2017 Election Commission bribery case, which allegedly involved a former AIADMK leader among others.
(With input from agencies)