Conman Sukesh admitted to ₹215 crore heist: ED to Supreme Court

The agency added that Chandrasekhar’s food in Delhi’s Tihar Jail came from a five-star hotel and he also hosted parties inside the prison in complicity with jail officials.

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday opposed within the Supreme Court, a plea by conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar, currently housed in Tihar, seeking a transfer to another prison, citing admissions made by him during his custodial interrogation, and warning the court that the transfer application was motivated by a desire to line up in another jail, the sort of racket he allegedly ran inside Tihar.

Chandrasekhar, 33, has admitted to pulling off a ₹215 crore heist within prison by duping former Ranbaxy promoter Shivinder Mohan’s wife Aditi Singh, masquerading on phone as Union cabinet minister Ajay Bhalla, ED told the Supreme Court on Monday.

The agency added that Chandrasekhar’s food in Delhi’s Tihar Jail came from a five-star hotel and he also hosted parties inside the prison in complicity with jail officials.

Opposing the conman’s plea to shift him from Tihar to another jail within the country over alleged threats to his life, ED maintained that Chandrasekhar accepted his crimes during the custodial interrogation which he now wanted a transfer only to repeat his criminal acts in an exceedingly new prison.

“During ED custody, Chandrasekhar admitted that he impersonated Law Secretary Anup Kumar and residential secretary Ajay Bhalla. He admitted to collecting cash from Aditi Singh…He admitted that he used mobile-based applications ‘hushed’ and ‘crazy call’ for voice modulation and purchased virtual numbers,” claimed the agency’s application within the top court.

ED’s application was mentioned on Monday before the bench of justices CT Ravi Kumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia by law officer Tushar Mehta, because the peace officer urged the court to listen to the agency before Chandrasekhar’s request for transfer was entertained to any extent further.

The court agreed to listen to the agency on Tuesday when it'd consider Chandrasekhar’s plea that he was facing threats to his life in Tihar where several police officials are currently facing sought for receiving bribes from him for undue favours inside prison.

On Friday, the court asked the Centre to require a call by Monday on shifting Chandrasekhar to a different jail. ED, however, moved the fresh application on Monday, giving out details of charges and therefore the investigation in cases involving Chandrasekhar.

When he was lodged in Delhi’s Rohini jail between July 2020 and September 2021, the police received a complaint (in August 2021) that he had duped her. As on date, 34 criminal cases under charges of cheating, extortion, try to murder and bribing public officials are pending against Chandrasekhar with most pending trial before various Delhi courts.

The special cell of Delhi police is currently investigating an outsized number of jail and police officials for allegedly colluding with Chandrasekhar.

In a press statement issued through his lawyer on December 31, Chandrasekhar had denied the allegations of extortion and cheating, claiming he was targeted by the govt agencies. He also said that he wasn't a chiseler but a company lobbyist. This statement was released soon after ED filed its police blotter during a Delhi court in connection to Aditi Singh’s case.