Mumbai: Haryana resident Suneha Pandit (22), sister-in-law of absconding accused Anil Pandit arrested in the Tiger Shroff firing case, handled the extortion amounts in India, police have alleged.
Seeking 15 days of police custody, special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves submitted that the investigation had revealed a cryptocurrency wallet in the name of Abhishek Pandit, Suneha’s husband. The prosecution also referred to the use of a Cambodian phone user on Aug 25 and a Denmark VPN on the date of the incident on Oct 18, in accessing the account. The prosecution said 13 people, including three women, have been arrested so far in the case.
The prosecution said the wallet could be operated from anywhere in the world and funds from foreign accounts were received in it. These were extortion-linked amounts, according to the prosecution. The court said, “The arrest of the accused not linked to the crime but money trail, account name of her husband. The court said, “Therefore to dig out the finances, to investigate role played by accused in the conspiracy, and to gather the information of the absconding accused, custodial interrogation necessary. ” The court added, “Certainly during transit remand accused was in custody but that period cannot be said to be useful and sufficient having regard to the distance from where she has been arrested and brought to this court.
The court further noted, “Various amounts were transferred from account of Abhishek to the four accused and also to the persons who made arrangements for staying for the accused. The prosecution argued that the accused persons were using Signal and other applications to avoid detection. The prosecution sought custody, saying every financial entry required investigation and the money trail had to be established. Suneha was arrested from Karnal in Haryana with the help of local police.
The defence also argued that the Rs 47 lakh transactions were spread over several years and could be family account transactions.
The defence said the SBI account was in Abhishek’s name and the prosecution had not shown how Suneha Pandit was directly linked to the alleged crime. Defence advocate Ajinkya Mirgal opposed the remand plea and argued that the cryptocurrency wallet belonged to Abhishek and could be accessed from anywhere in the world. The defence submitted that Suneha had not travelled to Cambodia and the use of a VPN showed no direct link with her. The defence claimed the arrest was made only to extract a confession and argued that custody was not necessary.