Surat, June 24: A local court today deferred till June 30, on health grounds, the bail plea of Sunanda Shetty, mother of actress Shilpa Shetty and prime accused in a case of alleged extortion. In keeping with a court directive, Sunanda appeared in person and urged chief judicial magistrate R P Mehta to defer the case as she was undergoing treatment in a Mumbai hospital.
Her lawyer, Kalpesh Desai, moved an application urging adjournment of the matter on health grounds. He said Sunanda had remained present in deference to the court even though she was unwell and under medical treatment.
Police have registered a case against Sunanda, her husband Surendra and two gangsters on the charge of extorting Rs 80 lakh from saree manufacturer Pankaj Agarwal. The money was payable to actress Shilpa Shetty, police said. Police also claim to be in possession of tape-recorded talks between Shilpa's parents and Agarwal, which allegedly reveal that the latter was threatened.
However, Sunanda and Surendra claim the telephonic talks were manipulated and concocted.
Surendra was arrested on June 21 after the Gujarat High Court rejected his bail. Bureau Report