Investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has revealed that jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar targeted three more actors along with Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi.
These three actors are Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar. Sukesh Chandrashekhar allegedly used extorted money to send them gifts.
Sukesh Chandrashekhar, 32, is now in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for allegedly extorting Rs 215 crore from Aditi Singh, the wife of the owner of Ranbaxy. Posing as an officer — sometimes as Law Secretary, Home Secretary, representative of Home Minister Amit Shah, and representative of Prime Minister’s Office — he extorted Rs 215 crore from Aditi Singh on the pretext of helping her husband get out of jail.
Sara Ali Khan
Sukesh targeted Sara Ali Khan in May 2021. He introduced himself to the actor by texting her on WhatsApp message on May 21, 2021 as Suraj Reddy.
Their conversation continued on WhatsApp and eventually, Sukesh told Sara that he would like to gift her a car as a friendly gesture.
He also mentioned that his CEO Mrs Irani had tried to contact her. Mrs Irani is an associate of Sukesh Chandrashekhar whose job was to convince actors to meet the conman. Pinky Irani is the one who introduced Sukesh to Jacqueline Fernandez.
As Suraj Reddy, Sukesh kept sending messages to Sara Ali Khan and insisted on showering her with gifts.
Sara was questioned by ED officials regarding the gifts. In a letter to the probe agency dated January 14, 2022, the actor told investigators that she constantly refused Sukesh’s offer.
Sara also told the ED that after refusing Sukesh alias Suraj on multiple occasions, she agreed to receive a box of chocolates from him. Later, Sukesh sent her a Franck Muller watch along with the chocolates.
Franck Muller watches retail for lakhs of rupees in India.
Janhvi Kapoor
Actor Janhvi Kapoor was also targeted by Sukesh through his wife Leena Maria Paul. The conman allegedly gifted items worth over Rs 18 lakh was given to Janhvi. This is the same money which Sukesh extorted from Aditi Singh.
Leena Maria Paul approached Janhvi as the owner of a salon called Nail Artistry and invited her for the opening of a her salon in Bengaluru on July 19, 2021.
Unaware of Sukesh and Leena’s backgrounds, Janhvi inaugurated the salon in Bengaluru and received payment to the tune of Rs. 18.94 lakh as professional fees in her bank account.
Janhvi also told the ED that apart from money, she was gifted a Christian Dior tote bag by Leena’s mother on the day of the event.
The actor submitted her bank account details before the ED along with her statement.
Bhumi Pednekar
Sukesh Chandrashekhar had his sights set on another Bollywood actor — Bhumi Pednekar. She was targeted by Sukesh’s associate Pinky Irani, who approached Bhumi pretending to be the Vice President HR of News Express Post in January 2021.
Pinky told Bhumi that their group’s chairman Mr Suraj (Sukesh Chandrasekhar) was a fan of hers and wanted to speak with her about a huge project. He also wanted to gift her a car, she told the actor.
The next day, Sukesh Chandrasekhar contacted Bhumi and introduced himself as ‘Shekhar’and said, “My friend Ms Irani must have got in touch with you regarding a few projects and a car that I wanna gift you.”
In May 2021, Pinky Irani sent message to Bhumi saying Mr Suraj (Sukesh Chandrasekhar) is a billionaire and he wanted to gift her a car and he loves making gifts his friends.
The same day, Sukesh again contacted Bhumi and introduced himself as Suraj from NE Group.
Bhumi informed ED officials that she did not receive any gifts from Sukesh Chandrasekhar or Suraj or Shekhar or his any of his associates.
