Dangerous Love: How Jacqueline Fernandez got entangled in Rs 200-crore extortion case with conman 'boyfriend'
Dangerous Love: How Jacqueline Fernandez got entangled in Rs 200-crore extortion case with conman 'boyfriend'
The woes don’t end for actor Jacqueline Fernandez. After being named an accused in the Rs 200 crore extortion case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, the actor appeared before the Delhi Police today.
The 37-year-old actor arrived at the Mandir Marg office of the EOW (Economic Offences Wing) in Delhi this morning around 11.30.
The authorities have also called in Pinky Irani, the woman who had introduced the actress to conman Chandrashekhar, also arrived at the Delhi office to join the investigation. The officials will likely grill the two together in the matter.
The actor’s appearance comes after she was summoned thrice by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). The earlier summons had been issued for 29 August and 12 September.
Jacqueline will have to face Delhi Police’s long list of questions after she was named an accused in the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Delhi court in mid-August. The Delhi Police had earlier arrested Chandrashekhar for allegedly extorting Rs 215 crore from Aditi Singh and Shivendra Singh, former promoters of pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy.
What’s the case all about? How is Jacqueline Fernandez connected to the matter? We take a closer look and answer all these questions and more.
ED’s case against Jacqueline
Jacqueline was named an accused in the case after many months of investigations and enquiries. The ED in its supplementary chargesheet stated that Chandrashekhar lavished huge amounts of the swindled money on Jacqueline and that she was a beneficiary of gifts worth over Rs 5 crore from the sum he swindled. It has named the actor as an accused, alleging that she was aware that the gifts were bought from the proceeds of the crime.
During their investigations, it has been found that Chandrashekhar gifted the actor a horse for Rs 52 lakh and a Persian cat worth Rs 9 lakh. She was also given a Mini Cooper, which she eventually returned to him.
Besides these gifts, he also gave her three designer bags from Gucci, Chanel, two Gucci outfits for gym wear, a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes, two pairs of diamond earrings and a bracelet of multi-coloured stones, and two Hermes bracelets.
The conman’s generosity also extended to Jacqueline’s family, said the ED. Reports have quoted ED officials as saying that he had loaned around $150,000 to the actor’s sister, who lives in the United States and also gifted her a BMW X5 car.
The accused conman also gifted Jacqueline’s parents a Maserati, as well as a Porsche to her mother.
The agency also said its probe found that Chandrasekhar had “delivered cash to the tune of Rs 15 lakh to a script writer on behalf of Fernandez as advance for writing a script of her web series project.”
The ED maintains that Jacqueline knew that the money being used for these gifts was obtained illegally and that she was aware of Chandrashekhar’s long con.
Did Jacqueline know who Chandrashekhar really is?
According to ED officials, the answer is yes. The actor was aware of who the conman was and how he had obtained the money that he was so freely lavishing on her.
However, Jacqueline while being questioned on multiple occasions has said that she wasn’t aware that Chandrashekhar was lodged in Tihar jail when they started interacting in 2012.
Talking about the investigations, a source was quoted as saying to The Print, “She claimed that he met her only twice while he was out of jail on parole. One of these meetings happened in Chennai. Whenever Fernandez would ask for a meeting, he would say he was stuck due to COVID-19 restrictions. He kept in constant touch with Fernandez through video calls that he made from the office space that he had created inside Tihar jail.”
Talking about the same, Chandrashekhar’s lawyer Anant Malik said that although they had an affair that was short-lived, Jacqueline never visited him in jail. He revealed that they met only twice and were in touch for about seven months. He also added that it is a long enough period to know the whereabouts of a person.
He added that an online search would have revealed who he is and also that he had been arrested in Mumbai at one point of time. “So who Sukesh is, is clear, and it is impossible that Jacqueline was unaware of his involvements or whereabouts.”
How did the two meet?
The ‘love story’ between Jacqueline Fernandez and Sukesh Chandrashekhar seems to have been plucked out of a Bollywood potboiler.
ED officials maintain that the two began their affair in 2021 while Chandrashekhar was lodged in Tihar jail.
Enamoured by Jacqueline, he started calling her, claim the ED officials. When she didn’t respond to his calls, he roped in Pinky Irani, a common link, asking her to help him.
As per a submission made by the ED in the Supreme Court, Pinky then approached Shaan — the actor’s make-up artist — asking him to help out. Shaan then convinced Jacqueline to contact Chandrashekhar, saying he would be a good match as he came from an influential family.
After much convincing, Jacqueline agreed to speak to him, and as the saying goes — the rest was history.
With inputs from agencies
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