Mumbai, June 28: A team of Surat Police today recorded the statements of popular actress Shilpa Shetty and two others in a case of alleged extortion involving her parents. The statements were recorded by the team in Mumbai, a top police officer told a news agency.

Besides Shilpa, other persons are her former secretary John and Sunder Shekhar, leader of Bharitya minorities Surat Mahasangh.

Shilpa, who returned from abroad today, was questioned for three hours by the team led by inspector D D Damor. The actress told police that she had given a power of attorney to her mother to handle her assignments after she entered the glamourous world of films. She also said she learnt about this case when she was shooting for a film in Switzerland recently.

According to police, Shilpa`s father Surendra Shetty and his driver Dilip Walsekar had sought Sunder Shekhar`s help to recover Rs 80 lakh payable to the actress by businessman Pankaj Agarwal. Sunder Shekhar took them to Khar Police in Mumbai which did not respond as it was a civil dispute. A Surat Police team is camping in Mumbai since yesterday to question some of the other accused in the extortion case.

Umra police have registered a case against Shilpa`s parents, Surendra and Sunanda, for `hiring` a gangster to extort Rs 80 lakh from Surat-based Praful saree owner Pankaj Agrawal, payable to the actress for an ad film.

Surendra Shetty`s plea for bail will be heard on July 1 while the bail petition of Sunanda will come up for hearing on June 30 before a court in Surat.

Bureau Report