3 Jail Staff Transferred After Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar's Bribe Attempt

Alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar has been shifted to another jail in Tihar and three prison staff have been transferred after it was found that he had tried to bribe one of them, officials said on Sunday.

Director General (Delhi Prisons) Sandeep Goel said information was received that Chandrashekhar allegedly tried to bribe one of the staff of jail number 4, where he was lodged.

He allegedly got Rs 1.25 lakh deposited into the bank account of an inmate's brother, the officials said.

"We are getting an inquiry conducted and have transferred three staff from the jail. Lodgment of inmate Sukesh has also been changed to another jail," Goel added.

In November last year, the Delhi Police had told a court in a chargesheet that Chandrashekhar was using high-end mobile phone applications to spoof the landline numbers of government authorities to extort a large sum of money from several individuals from inside Rohini prison.

The allegations were made in a chargesheet field against Chandrashekhar and his wife and actor Leena Maria Paul last year in a case related to allegedly duping the wife of the former Ranbaxy promoter Shivinder Singh of Rs 200 crore.

The police claimed in its final report filed before additional sessions judge Praveen Singh that Chandrashekhar lived inside the jail like a "king".

They further claimed that he was using a mobile number to carry out extortion by posing as high ranking government functionaries.

"The mobile screen of unsuspecting users will show the number of landlines of government offices and names of some higher government authorities through true-caller mobile application," the charge sheet filed before the court said.

According to the charge sheet, Deputy Jail Superintendent D S Meena, who was arrested in the case, used to collect Rs 60 to 75 lakh fortnightly from co-accused Deepak and Pradeep Ramnani, which was distributed among the jail officials to provide safety and facilities for Chandrashekhar to continue his extortion racket.

Out of that money, around Rs 50 lakh would be given to the officers above the rank of assistant superintendent and Rs 10 lakh to those below that rank, the chargesheet quoted from Meena's confessional statement given to the police.

It claimed that Chandrashekhar was given an entire barrack to stay where he spent long hours, and opaque curtains were hung in order to prevent the CCTVs from recording his activities.

It added that Chandrashekhar was fond of living a lavish lifestyle and loved expensive luxury vehicles.

The police claimed to have seized around 20 luxury vehicles from his farmhouse.

It said that jail officers were also arrested for assisting Chandrashekhar in his crimes, who would send them at least Rs 1 crore a month via hawala dealers and money carriers.

The accused are charged with cheating, criminal conspiracy and other offences punishable under the IPC and provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The case was filed on the basis of an FIR lodged by the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing on Aditi Singh's complaint that a man posing as a senior official of the law ministry had offered to help secure bail for her husband, who was in prison at that time, in return for money.

According to the EOW, Chandrashekhar and Paul, along with others, used hawala routes and created shell companies to park the money earned from proceeds of the crime.

Several officials, including an assistant jail superintendent and the deputy superintendent of Rohini Jail were found involved in the racket and were arrested, the police said. 

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