Naveen Jindal extortion case: Zee Group Chairman Subhash Chandra appears before police for questioning

New Delhi: Zee Group Chairman Subhash Chandra and his son Punit Goenka, the managing director of the company, appeared today before the Delhi Police's Crime Brance for questioning in connection with the alleged Rs. 100 crore extortion bid from Congress MP Naveen Jindal's firm by two editors of his news channel.

Mr Chandra came to Crime Branch office in Chanakyapuri along with lawyers where he was questioned. The police had served the notice to him on Monday.

A Delhi court had on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Mr Chandra and his son till December 14 in the case in which two of his Editors, Sudhir Chaudhury and Samir Ahluwalia, were arrested late last month following investigations into complaint filed on October 2. The court said that on December 14 it will be decided whether their interim protection can be extended or not.

Investigators have the local court that they were treating Mr Chandra as an accused as he knew about the dealings between his employees and Congress MP Naveen Jindal's company.

The Zee News Editors are presently lodged in Tihar jail. They have been booked under section 384 (extortion), 420 (cheating), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code.

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The Zee Group has condemned the arrests of their employees and demanded their immediate release. It also denied the allegations against the two journalists, alleging the police action was "illegal" and "designed for something else".

(With PTI inputs)

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