Surat, July 01: A hearing on Surendra Shetty’s bail plea would be held by the sessions court here today. Shetty, father of actress Shilpa Shetty is accused in a case of alleged extortion. District and sessions court Judge K M Vin has will be hearing the case, Surendra's advocate Kalpesh Desai said. This is Surendra's fourth bail application after earlier three pleas were rejected - two in Surat court and one in the gujarat high court, on the ground of "prima facie evidence" of his alleged involvement in the crime.

Surendra and his wife Sunanda are facing the charge of "hiring" a gangster to extort from a Surat-based businessman Pankaj Agrawal Rs 80 lakhs payable to Shilpa for an ad film that she did in 1998.

Surendra was remanded to judicial custody till July 5 after his bail plea was earlier rejected by Chief Judicial Magistrate R P Mehta.
Moving a fresh bail petition, desai contented that his 52-year old client was "wholeheartedly cooperating" with the investigation and charges filed against him under Section 386 IPC (extortion) were "baseless".

Bureau Report