New Delhi: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police on Monday issued fresh summons to actor Jacqueline Fernandez to appear on 14 September in connection with the Rs 200 crore extortion case filed against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. According to ANI, the actress had requested to postpone her questioning on Monday, as she had some pre-scheduled shoots.
Jacqueline was summoned to join the investigation on September 12 at the EOW office at Mandir Marg around 11 am.
This is the third occasion that summons have been issued to Fernandez by the police to join the investigation.
Earlier, Delhi's Patiala House Court had also summoned Jacqueline directing her to appear in court on September 26. The court took cognizance of the supplementary chargesheet filed in the case that named the actress as an accused.
The Enforcement Directorate had named Jacqueline Fernandez as accused in the supplementary chargesheet as a beneficiary of the extortion money. The chargesheet reportedly mentions that the actor was aware that Sukesh Chandrashekhar was a criminal and an extortionist.
Jacqueline was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the money laundering case. In June, Jacqueline appeared at the ED headquarters, following the summons to record her statement. She told ED that she met Chandrashekhar in 2017.
In her reply to the authorities of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act who have attached several of her Fixed Deposits (FDs), the actress maintained that her FDs are from her ‘own legitimate of income’ and have no connection to conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar and were created even before the conman ‘existed’. Her investments were attached by the authority after Jacqueline’s name emerged in the 200-crore money laundering case involving Sukesh Chandrasekhar.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, Jacqueline Fernandez in her reply said: “Just because she is (a) recipient of certain gifts which were forced on her for forming a connect, can’t be used to ignore the fact which the record otherwise clearly shows that she was conned by Sukesh Chandrasekhar. The approach of ED, unfortunately, seems to be highly mechanical and motivated, hence, blinded towards the fact that respondent (Jacqueline) has lost more than what can be measured in money”.
Jacqueline also accused ED of malafide and said that Nora Fatehi and other celebrities who received gifts from the main accused Sukesh Chandrashekhar are made witnesses whereas she is sought to be dragged as an accused.
“What is surprising is that like the respondent (Jacqueline), some other celebrities, notably Norah Fatehi was also conned by Chandrasekhar and Fatehi and other such celebrities who received gifts from the accused, are made witnesses whereas she is sought to be dragged as an accused. This clearly shows a malafide, motivated and biased approach on the part of investigation authority which cannot be ignored,” Hindustan Times quoted her reply to PMLA.
The actress also claimed that Chandrasekhar insisted on showering her with gifts despite her repeated refusals.