Christian Dior bag, lakhs of rupees to Janhvi Kapoor from conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar's wife

The actor has told the Enforcement Directorate she received the bag and money for inaugurating a salon owned by the conman's wife Leena Maria Paul.

Actor Janhvi Kapoor was allegedly gifted an expensive bag and lakhs of rupees by conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar's wife in July 2021, sources have exclusively told India Today TV. Sukesh Chandrashekhar, currently lodged in Delhi's infamous Tihar Jail, is being investigated in a Rs 200-crore extortion case by the Enforcement Directorate.

The actor, the sources added, is a potential witness in the case and not a suspect or an accused yet.

Chandrasekhar, accused of targetting and cheating actors Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi, had also allegedly approached Janhvi Kapoor through his wife last year.

Leena Maria posed as the owner of a luxe nail salon - The Nail Artistry - and invited Janhvi Kapoor to inaugurate an outlet in Bengaluru on July 19, 2021, India Today TV has learnt. Janhvi was paid Rs 18.94 lakh and an expensive bag from a high-end luxury brand by Leena Maria Paul for attending the event. Unaware of the criminal background of Sukesh and Leena, the actor went to Bengaluru for the salon's inauguration.

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India Today TV has learnt that Janhvi had submitted her bank account details to the ED for verification. "She received payments to the tune of Rs 18.94 akhs as professional fees in her bank account," the sources added. This, according to sources in the financial probe agency, is the same money Sukesh had extorted from the wife of a Delhi businessman, sitting in his Tihar jail cell.

Janhvi told the agency in her statement that she had received a Christian Dior tote bag from Leena's mother on the day of the event.