Jacqueline Fernandez did not appear before ED, actress to be summoned again next week

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Bollywood actresses Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi in connection with an alleged Rs 200-crore money-laundering case. While Nora appeared for questioning on Thursday, Jacqueline was called on Friday. However, citing personal reasons, the actress did not appear before the ED. Summons will be sent again next week, reports India TV’s Atul Singh.

For the unversed, the case pertains to an FIR filed by the Delhi Police in connection with an extortion racket allegedly perpetrated by scamsters Sukesh Chandrashekhar, Leena Maria-Paul and others, involving several bigwigs. The central probe agency had already recorded their statements earlier and they are being summoned again as witnesses for further probe.

Chandrasekhar was arrested in 2017 for allegedly taking money from TTV Dhinakaran to bribe Election Commission officials to get the AIADMK ‘two leaves’ symbol for the Sasikala faction in a by-election to the R K Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu.

It had claimed in a statement that Chandrasekhar is a “known conman” and is being probed by the Delhi Police in a case of alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating 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 and is presently lodged in Rohini jail (in connection with the Delhi Police case),” the ED had previously said.

Despite being in the jail, it said, Chandrasekhar “did not stop conning” people. “He (with a cellphone procured illegally in the prison) with the help of technology, made spoofed calls to dupe people as the numbers displayed on the called party’s phone number belonged to senior government officers.

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