Delivering a knock out punch to Zee media group chairman Subhash Chandra as well as editors Sudhir Chaudhary and Samir Ahluwalia, the Delhi Police's Crime Branch on Tuesday filed the charge-sheet before the designated court in connection with the alleged `100 crore extortion bid from Naveen Jindal’s firm.
A senior official of the Crime Branch said that the charge-sheet has been filed against the three under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Sections 384 (extortion), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating).
The charge-sheet was filed in the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Amit Bansal. Chaudhury and Ahluwalia were earlier arrested in the case, but are currently on bail. The charge-sheet says police has the phone records of Chandra and Ahluwalia.
The investigating officer (IO), however, made it clear they are yet to find evidence against Chandra’s son Punit Goenka, Managing Director of Zee Entertainment Enterprises ltd. A supplementary charge-sheet will be filed in event of fresh evidence being gathered by the IO, the official said. The controversial incident came to light in November 2012 after Naveen Jindal filed a police complaint.
with the Delhi Police accusing Chaudhury and Ahluwalia of demanding Rs100 crore from his firm. The case was transferred to Crime Branch by the Commissioner of Police