Sukesh Chandrasekhar, a multimillionaire con artist, is facing a new twist in his case involving lavish presents given to unknown actors and models.
According to India Today, four aspiring actors and models named Nikita Tamboli, Chahat Khanna, Sophia Singh, and Arusha Patil met prominent con artist Sukesh Chandrashekhar while he was being held in a jail in Delhi. All four of these actors had travelled to Tihar Jail to meet the con artist through Pinky Irani.
Pinky used several aliases to bring these performers to Sukesh, and in return for their visits, the con artist gave them cash and presents from Gucci, LV purses, and Versace watches. Arusha Patil, one of these four performers, said that Pinky Irani had introduced her to Sukesh Chandrasekhar, but she denied having met him in Tihar Jail. However, the ED claimed in its chargesheet that she had received money into her bank account from the con artist.
Pinky Irani introduced her to accused Sukesh Chandrasekhar as “Shekhar,” claims big boss star Nikita Tamboli. He was named by Pinky Irani as a buddy and South Indian producer.
“It was further revealed that Nikita Tamboli twice saw Sukesh Chandrasekhar, the defendant, inside the Tihar Jail in Delhi, where he kept an office. Sukesh Chandrasekhar gave the accused Pinky Irani money totaling Rs 10 lakh at their initial meeting in April 2018, and she then gave Nikita Tamboli cash totaling Rs 1.5 lakh from that sum. She went alone to meet Sukesh Chandrasekhar on the second occasion, two to three weeks after their initial encounter, and was given cash to the tune of Rs 2 lakh and one Gucci bag by the accused, according to the ED’s chargesheet.
On December 15, 2021, ED recorded her statement. She further disclosed to authorities that Pinky had contacted her via WhatsApp sometime in 2018 and identified herself as a coordinator and film producer.
“Pinky Irani had said that a fellow South Indian producer was interested in seeing her and working on a project together. The ED chargesheet continued, “She claimed that Pinky alias Angel had informed her in April 2018 that they would meet Shekhar in Delhi and that she had already bought both of their flight tickets from Mumbai to Delhi. The next day, they left for Delhi.
They arrived in Delhi, drove to Tihar Jail in a BMW, and were then driven within the jail’s walls by an Innova.
“There was no security check, and they weren’t asked for their IDs. Nikita Tamboli claimed that she and Pinky proceeded upstairs where Sukesh Chandrasekhar introduced himself as Shekhar and that he was a prominent producer. He first mentioned that it was his office, but later informed Nikita that he was imprisoned due to a significant scandal and would be released on bail in August 2018. She continued by saying that she had only ever met him twice, and that too in Tihar Jail. She travelled with Angel for the first time. Just two to three weeks after her initial visit, Shekhar alias Sukesh booked her flights from Mumbai to Delhi for the subsequent visit and forwarded the tickets to her via WhatsApp, according to the chargesheet.
During the second visit, a jail inmate led her up to the first level where Shekhar was waiting with another man. Inside his room, there were a lot of high-end bags from LV and Gucci. Later, the man went away, and Shekhar gave Nikita a Gucci handbag in addition to giving her Rs 2 lakh in cash.
Later, though, the two didn’t get in touch. The ED also reviewed Nikita Tamboli’s stay in Delhi’s records, and they discovered that she spent the nights of March 22 and March 23 at the JW Marriott in Aerocity.
Chahat Khanna, an actress best known for her part in the Bade Acche Lagtey Hain television series, revealed to ED that Pinky Irani had connected Sukesh to Shekhar Redyy, the owner of South Indian Channel.
According to the ED’s chargesheet, “It was further revealed that once in May 2018 accused Sukesh Chandrasekhar met Chahat Khanna within the Tihar Jail, Delhi at his office, maintained there, for which the accused Pinky Irani provided her Rs 2 lakh in cash and a blue Versace watch.”
On December 16, 2021, the ED recorded Chahat Khanna’s statement in which she claimed that Pinky had called her sometime in January or February 2018 and requested her as a mom blogger for a fundraising event for a close friend of hers, but that it never materialised.
Pinky introduced herself as Angel, the CEO of a talent agency with offices in Mumbai, Dubai, and Los Angeles. Angel is a lawyer by training, lives in Los Angeles, and travels frequently for work.
Pinky requested that Chahat meet Sukesh in May 2018. They later travelled from Mumbai to Delhi together after Pinky had their tickets booked.
“A BMW automobile picked them up at the Delhi Airport, transported them to Tihar Jail Gate No. 3, and then they had to switch cars. She informed Chahat that it was a bureaucracy cell, that he was a large guy, and that he was now officially permitted to interact with people. Then, an Innova Car arrived to pick us up, and they were led inside the jail. Angel instructed her to look low to prevent their images from appearing in the CCTV tape. She signed a register but no IDs were checked or requested. The two were then led to the first floor by Sanjay Chandra and two uniformed jail personnel. The ED stated in its chargesheet that there were numerous electronics present, including a large TV, a play station, air conditioning, large Apple Bluetooth speakers, laptops, a sofa, a chair, a cooler, a fridge, phones, Rolex watches, and numerous pricey Gucci, LV, and Hermes bags.
Sukesh informed Chahat that he had been imprisoned for being implicated in an election voting fraud and would be released in the following four to five days. As Shekhar and a relative of the politician Jayalalitha, Sukesh presented himself.
“She arrived outside the jail’s grounds in an Innova car, sat in the BMW, and after five minutes of driving, she (Angel) was on the road and entered the vehicle as well. Once at the airport, they departed. There, she (Angel) revealed to her that her real name was Aafreen Khan and presented her with a blue Versace watch and Rs 2 lakh in cash. The chargesheet from the investigation agency continued, “She even showed her (Chahat) a lot of articles on Google about the crimes and scams for which he was imprisoned, and when she (Chahat) googled it, it showed Sukesh Chandrasekhar, which she (Angel) justified by saying that his full name is Sukesh Chandrasekhar Reddy, who is the owner of Sun TV.
Pinky also ordered Chahat to delete every chat so that her phone wouldn’t have any evidence of her time in jail.
Sophia Singh, an actress with some film experience, informed the authorities that Pinky had asked her to see Sukesh Chandrasekhar in relation to work on a movie. Sophia Singh had two encounters with Sukesh Chandrasekhar in the Tihar Jail.
She went alone to meet Sukesh Chandrasekhar on the second occasion, which was 15 days after their first meeting, and was given one LV Bag by the accused Sukesh Chandrasekhar. She also received Rs 1.5 lakh into her bank account, according to the ED chargesheet. “During the first meeting in May 2018, Sukesh Chandrasekhar got deposited cash to the tune of Rs 2 lakh into her bank account,” the chargesheet stated.
Pinky had informed Sophia that she wanted to introduce her to a big-hearted officer named Shekhar Reddy who was interested in making a movie. Shekhar reportedly wanted to contract Sophia for a major south Indian film, according to Sophia.
As a result, Sophia took a flight to Delhi, where she encountered Pinky four days later when she was waiting outside Tihar Jail in an Innova. When Sophia arrived at Tihar Jail’s front gate, no one verified her identity. It was requested that Sophia not bring her phone. Once upstairs, they found (Sukesh aka Shekhar), a dark man of little stature with short hair and a medium beard. A large screen TV, a sofa, a Dyson fan, a small refrigerator, and a tiny food bar were just a few of the opulent things in that area. The chargesheet said, “The room was highly fragranced, and when she entered, the two policemen stood outside as security.
Later, Sukesh asked Sophia to get in touch with him so he could sign her up for a movie and made a promise to do so. They then exchanged phone numbers. Additionally, Sukesh placed a drink and pizza order. Sukesh gave Sophia one lakh rupees.
“After 15 days, Sukesh once more requested a private meeting with Sophia. This time, she was able to enter the jail grounds with her car as well, and it was parked next to the Innova when she began to move. She met him again for 45 minutes, and this time he gave her an LV bag and said he would get her signed for a South film. Additionally, he received deposits of Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 1 lakh on May 16, 2018 and May 16, 2018, respectively.
Another actor, Arusha Patil, revealed to the authorities that she had never met Sukesh Chandrasekhar and had only communicated with him over WhatsApp, for which she had been paid Rs 5.20 lakh, of which she had given Pinky Irani one lakh. She informed authorities in her testimony provided to the ED on January 3, 2022, that she knew Sukesh Chandrasekhar as Shekhaar and that she spoke with him via Angel, whose other name was Afreen.
“That she communicated with Angel through a friend named Nayyna Muke after returning from New York. In December 2020, Angel introduced her to Shekhaar. She said that after seeing her images, he wanted to meet Arusha Patil. A WhatsApp number that belonged to Shekhaar made a few calls to her. They talked on the phone for approximately twenty to five days. In that time, he talked to her about his wife, family, and a variety of other topics. He even had the Pune Police Commissioner call her, introducing himself as (name withheld by India Today), and assuring her that she would be safe in the city and to contact him if she needed anything at all, according to the ED’s chargesheet.
Arusha looked up Sukesh’s phone number on the True Caller App, which listed the number as control room. She sent one lakh to Pinky after being urged to do so from the money of Rs 5.20 lakh that Sukesh handed her in December 2020. Sukesh Chandrasekhar has already disclosed to Arusha how well-paid Pinky Irani is already.
The chargesheet said, “He used to talk over WhatsApp (phone, chat, and video call).
These actors will probably be contacted by the Delhi Police so that they can record their statements in relation to this case.
