Subhash Chandra flew abroad without telling us, say Cops

Investigators probing the alleged extortion demand of Rs 100 crore made by Zee News from Congress MP Naveen Jindal’s firm on Friday said that despite reminders, Essel Group chairperson Subhash Chandra and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd managing director Punit Goenka have not joined the probe.

The Delhi police crime branch officials said that despite informing Subhash Chandra to join the probe, he fled to London without telling them.

“We told him to join investigation, which he complied, and told us that he would join it before December 2 as he was scheduled to leave the country on that day,” said a senior police officer.

The officer said they were hopeful when Chandra came to Delhi on November 27 to attend the wedding of National Democratic Alliance convener and Janata Dal (United) Sharad Yadav’s daughter Suhasini to Rajkamal Yadav on Tuesday. 

“We thought he will join the investigation, but he did not,” said the officer.
The investigators then reminded him to join the probe on December 28 through an e-mail. “But again we were told that he did not get any such letter, and finally he flew out of the country,” said the officer.

“On November 29, he took a British Airways flight from Mumbai and to London. He did not tell us about this,” said the officer.

They will send fresh notices to both Chandra and Goenka.
Other employees of Zee News joined the probe as called by the investigators. “Zee News sales head Amit Tripathi, managing director of Dish TV Jawahar Goel and Zee Group legal adviser A Mohan have joined the probe. Their statements have been recorded,” said the officer.

Zee News head Sudhir Chaudhary and Zee Business editor Samir Ahluwalia, arrested on charges of trying to extort money, were sent to judicial custody for 14 days by a Delhi court on Friday.

Metropolitan magistrate Gaurav Rao sent Chaudhary and Ahluwalia to Tihar jail till December 14 after investigators told the court that their interrogation was completed, and they were no longer required in police custody. “Two accused (Sudhir and Sammer) are remanded to judicial custody till December 14,” the court said.

They were produced before the court after their two-day police remand expired on Friday.