Spicezee Bureau
Mumbai: A person accused of blackmailing renowned sitarist Anoushka Shankar has been arrested under Section 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.
Zunaid Ahmed, nabbed by a Delhi Police team, has been sent to 14-day judicial custody. The arrest happened in relation to a complaint filed by Anoushka’s father, legendary composer Pandit Ravi Shankar, who had accused Ahmed of harassing and blackmailing his daughter.
The accused had apparently hacked Anoushka’s email account as well as accessed her private pictures and was in a way trying to extort money from Anoushka in return for her pictures. A police official suggested that the musician, who lives in the US, has told police that Anoushka had given her laptop to a service centre in south Delhi in February.
The man allegedly sent a series of e-mails to 28-year-old Anoushka, demanding money for not making public the photographs. The alleged blackmailer even asked for USD one lakh in one e-mail.
The arrest happened when a Delhi Police team visited Mumbai and caught hold of Ahmed. He might get a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison for the same, if convicted.
First Published: Sunday, September 20, 2009, 12:32