NEW DELHI: Sukesh Chandrashekhar, accused of extorting Rs 200 crore from the family of former promoter of pharma giant Ranbaxy, and his wife and former actress, Leena Maria Paul, have been shifted to Mandoli prison in northeast Delhi on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Sukesh will be kept alone in a cell with round-the-clock CCTV surveillance. Body-worn cameras will be used by guards or anyone approaching Sukesh, a source said.
The duo were shifted on Thursday night and around a dozen prison officials are set to be reshuffled there given Sukesh’s modus operandi of luring prison staff to get privileges in jail.
“We will be changing some of the staff at Mandoli jail and post officials with good conduct there,” a senior jail official said. Sukesh and Leena were lodged in Tihar Jail till last year, but the former was shifted to Rohini jail after allegations of his connivance with Tihar Jail officials surfaced. He was shifted back to Tihar upon his arrest in the extortion case filed by Aditi Singh, wife of former Ranbaxy promoter Shivinder Singh.
TOI was the first to report on the mega scandal last year. Subsequently, the enforcement directorate started a probe and charged Sukesh with money laundering.
As noose tightened around Sukesh, he moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer from Tihar Jail to any other prison claiming a threat to his life in the prison. In the process, Sukesh admitted that he paid over Rs 12 crore to Tihar Jail officials allegedly to protect himself from being tortured and it was also confirmed by ED that money changed hands inside jail to allow him to operate from there.
The Supreme Court asked him to name those who received the money and how he managed to arrange the amount.
The ED told the SC bench that he paid jail officials to get facilities for his illegal operation from inside the prison and he now wanted to shift to another jail as his illegal activities in Tihar got exposed and he was caught bribing jail officials. Senior advocate R Basant, appearing for the conman, said his client had paid the money but it was not a bribe.
Start a Conversation
Post comment