Rs 200 cr extortion case: Delhi HC denies bail to Sukesh's wife, 2 others

NEW DELHI :The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the bail petition of Leena Maria Paulose, wife of conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar in a Rs 200 crore extortion case registered by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police.

The Court also dismissed the bail petitions of two accused Kamlesh Kothari and B Mohan Raj in the same case.

Sukesh Chandrasekhar, Leena Maria Paulose and others are presently in judicial custody since last year in the case for allegedly duping Aditi Singh, wife of the former promoter of Ranbaxy, Shivinder Singh, of Rs 200 crore.

Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma on Tuesday dismissed all three bail petitions filed in the matter.

The Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in September 2021 had arrested actor Leena Maria Paul, wife of Sukesh Chandrasekar, for allegedly supporting her partner in cases of duping.

According to police, Kothari is a real estate agent who helped the couple buy a bungalow in Chennai and B Mohan Raj a lawyer by profession and has been representing Chandrashekhar in his cases for a long time and was allegedly involved in their wrongdoing.

The Delhi Police Economic Offence Wing (EOW) last year filed a chargesheet naming 14 accused including Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, his Wife Leena Maria Paul and others. The Chargesheet was filed under various sections of IPC and provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

According to the EOW, Leena, Sukesh with others used hawala routes, creating shell companies to park the money earned from proceeds of crime.

Delhi Police's EOW had registered an FIR against Chandrasekhar for allegedly duping the spouses of former promoters of Ranbaxy, Shivinder Singh, and Malvinder Singh, of Rs 200 crores besides ongoing investigations against him in several cases across the country.

According to the Prosecution, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police extended its investigation into the case related to extortion of over Rs 200 crore, by Rohini jail inmate Sukesh Chandrasekar for allegedly duping wives of former Religare promoters Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, who are currently in Tihar jail.

Investigations revealed that the accused Sukesh Chandrasekar had duped Shivinder's wife Aditi Singh and Malvinder's wife Japna Singh worth several crores of rupees. The women claimed that they have paid crores of rupees to the conman to secure bail for their husbands and ensure their safety, posing as an officer from the Union Law Ministry.

Chandrasekhar and his associates allegedly took money from Aditi after posing as government officials and promising to get bail for her husband. As per reports, Chandrasekhar persuaded Aditi to transfer money by impersonating a central government official over a spoof call while he was lodged in Rohini jail and promised to manage bail for her husband.

Both Chandrasekhar and his actor wife Leena Maria Paul were arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2021 for their alleged role in the duping case.