Nikki Tamboli and Sofia Singh were taken to Tihar jail to recreate meeting with conman
A Delhi Police team took two actresses inside the Tihar jail to "recreate" their alleged meeting with conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar as part of a probe into a Rs 200-crore extortion case, officials said on Monday.
The police said ever since Chandrasherkar has been jailed, the prison had become a hub of illegal activities which he carried out with the help of jail officials.
The team of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing took actresses Nikki Tamboli and Sofia Singh to the Tihar's central jail number one on Saturday to "recreate" their meetings with the 'conman' as part of the ongoing probe, a senior police officer said.
Chandrashekhar, who is currently in jail, is accused of cheating various people, including high-profile individuals such as former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's wife Aditi Singh.
The EOW has so far questioned Bollywood actors -- Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi along with former TV anchor Pinky Irani and stylist Leepakshi Ellawadi, officials said.
During his stay in Tihar, many people including celebrities arrived in luxury cars and gained entry inside the jail by saying they were there to meet Chandrashekar, the officer said.
Tamboli has featured in a couple of reality shows while Singh has acted in Hindi and Telegu movies, officials said.
Videography of the entire recreation of the meeting was also done, police said.
"Many people visited Chandrashekhar inside the jail. However, we are only summoning those who are relevant to our investigation. Currently, Chandrashekar is jailed in Mandoli Prison," the official said.
Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said, "We are doing a thorough investigation in the case and that's why we have recreated the scene of meeting of the actresses with Chandrashekhar.
"That has given us a clear understanding of how this fraud was carried out. This will help us in prosecution." Investigation has also revealed that Chandrashekar had a proper office inside the prison with television, sofa, carpet and other amenities. It appeared like his office and not jail, another police officer said.
"Jail security was compromised. Luxury cars used to go inside the prison after visitors claimed they were going to meet Sukesh. Security checks were not done for those going to meet Chandrashekar. He had so much money that he was spending crores on jail officials. No one stopped him since he had bribed jail officials," he added.
Most of the time, Chandrashekhar introduced himself either as a business tycoon from the south, a movie producer or a television channel owner and lured actors by offering them roles in "his upcoming movies", the police said.
The investigation of the case is still underway and so far, no clean chit has been given to any of the actors involved in the case, they said.
"Investigation also suggest that Chandrashekhar had contacted other actors as well with the same modus operandi. The two actors were introduced to the alleged conman through Pinki Irani who has already been questioned by the EOW team," the officer said.
He added that these illegal activities of Chandrashekhar and his operations were carried out with the involvement of senior jails officials.
"We are investigating the role of each of these jail officials who were working for Chandraskehar. Under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, six Tihar jail officials have already been arrested. The role of other jail officials are under scrutiny," the officer said.
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