New Delhi: A Court here today asked the Delhi
police to file reports on letters rogatory sent to the US
authorities for collecting evidence in the case of alleged
extortion of Anoushka Shankar, daughter of sitar maestro
Pandit Ravi Shankar, on the basis of her private photographs.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja issued notice
to the special cell of Delhi police and also directed them to
file reports on the forensic examination of mobile phone and
laptop allegedly used for committing the offence.
The court, which posted the matter for next hearing on
February 5, 2010, had on November 19 granted bail to Junaid
Khan, a Mumbai-based businessman accused of extortion on the
basis of Anoushka`s private photographs, saying the trial of
the case was likely to take more time and no useful purpose
will be served by keeping the accused behind bars.
It had also taken into account the facts that the forensic
reports of the laptop and mobile phone which were allegedly
used by Khan to hack emails accounts of Anoushka to obtain her
private photographs were still awaited.
The court had last month issued letters rogatory to the US
authorities at the request of the police for collecting
evidence from Google Inc.
Letters rogatory is a formal legal document issued through
the Court on behalf of an investigating agency to provide for
documents and sharing of relevant details with other
countries.
In addition to the complaint made by Pandit Ravi Shankar
to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Anoushka had herself sent a
complaint to the Delhi Police on September one from the US
following the threats.
According to the police, Khan had sent threatening emails
to Anoushka after creating an email in the name of
anoushka.soni@gail.com on her personal and official IDs.
She said some materials, including her pictures, were
stolen from her laptop which she had submitted to a South
Delhi-based service centre on February eight last year.
The police alleged Khan had first sent threatening emails
from the UAE and then from Mumbai. He was nailed on November
14 after the police found that the phone number allegedly used
for the purpose had been registered in Khan`s name.
Khan was booked under IPC provisions relating to extortion
and theft, among other offences.
The police had filed the chargesheet in the case on
November 11.
-PTI
