Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID), in a revised chargesheet filed before a Vijayawada court, has named Mumbai-based actress Kadambari Jethwani as accused no. 1 in a criminal case that once rocked the state. It also led to the suspension of three IPS officers and resulted in disciplinary action against several police personnel.The CID alleged that Jethwani ran a years-long extortion racket targeting Vijayawada businessman Kukkala Venkata Rama Vidyasagar through threats of false criminal cases, intimidation and deception.The chargesheet marks a complete reversal in one of AP’s most high-profile criminal cases. Vidyasagar lodged a complaint against Jethwani in Feb 2024, accusing her of extorting money over several years. During the probe, however, the actress accused AP police officers of illegally detaining and harassing her, allegations that led to the suspension of three IPS officers and action against several policemen. After the investigation was transferred to the CID following the change of govt in AP, the agency concluded that the evidence supported Vidyasagar’s complaint and hence a revised chargesheet was filed against Jethwani.According to the chargesheet, Vidyasagar said he first met Jethwani at a social function in Hyderabad in Nov 2009. She allegedly introduced herself as ‘Natasha’, claimed that she had won a beauty pageant and aspired to become a doctor, and sought his help after pretending to have misplaced her mobile phone. The acquaintance reportedly developed into a close personal relationship. Investigators said she initially sought financial assistance for educational expenses and family problems before the demands allegedly became more frequent and substantial.The chargesheet states that between 2009 and 2012, Vidyasagar paid for her educational and personal expenses. One of the earliest documented payments was ₹80,000, allegedly handed over in Mumbai in March 2012.According to the CID, the relationship took a coercive turn in May 2013, when Jethwani allegedly entered Vidyasagar’s hotel room in Mumbai and demanded ₹10 lakh, threatening to circulate their intimate photographs among his family members and implicate him in a false rape case if he refused to pay. When he threatened to approach her parents, she allegedly put her mother, Asha Jethwani, an employee of the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai, on speakerphone.The chargesheet states that Asha allegedly asked the complainant to ‘agree on some amount and close the issue’, while Kadambari’s father, Narendra Kumar Jethwani, allegedly suggested that the amount could be paid in instalments through family bank accounts. Fearing damage to his reputation and family life, Vidyasagar transferred ₹1 lakh to Kadambari’s account on May 14, 2013. The chargesheet further alleges that shortly afterwards, Kadambari and her mother confronted him outside the RBI residential quarters in Mumbai and threatened to approach his wife and in-laws unless the payments continued.In Feb 2015, Kadambari’s brother, Ambarish Jethwani, allegedly transferred ₹1.26 lakh into Vidyasagar’s account and instructed him to immediately withdraw the money and return it in cash. A month later, Kadambari allegedly demanded another ₹10 lakh, threatening to file a false rape case with the support of her friends. According to the chargesheet, Vidyasagar paid around ₹4.2 lakh in cash instalments.Between June 2016 and Jan 2017, Vidyasagar allegedly transferred another ₹3.48 lakh in multiple instalments to the joint account of Kadambari and her mother, Asha Jethwani.The alleged intimidation later extended beyond Mumbai. In 2018, Kadambari allegedly arrived at the complainant’s residence in AP and threatened to publicly accuse him of rape unless he paid ₹2 lakh immediately. He allegedly handed over ₹1 lakh in cash.Vidyasagar also alleged that he blocked her calls for some time. However, Kadambari contacted him again in Sept 2023 and allegedly demanded ₹1 crore, claiming she needed the money to establish an art gallery. The chargesheet also alleges that she made him book a luxury hotel room in Varanasi during her visit to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.During a Zoom call around the same period, Kadambari allegedly claimed that her brother had become a Dubai-based real estate businessman with links to underworld operatives and warned that he could have Vidyasagar killed anywhere in India if he stopped making payments. The complainant allegedly booked her travel arrangements and later paid ₹1.5 lakh in cash to her mother as an advance towards the ₹1 crore demand.The chargesheet states that investigators relied on bank transaction records, cheque details, hotel bookings, call data records, SMS exchanges, electronic communications and witness statements to reconstruct the alleged conspiracy. The CID said scrutiny of Vidyasagar’s bank accounts revealed a documented trail of ₹1.32 crore in withdrawals and transfers linked to the alleged demands. Investigators also noted the absence of any loan agreements, promissory notes or other documents suggesting that the payments were legitimate financial transactions.Although the chargesheet recounts several instances in which Kadambari’s parents and brother were allegedly present or referred to during the alleged extortion, the CID concluded that it could not establish substantive evidence against Asha Jethwani, Narendra Kumar Jethwani and Ambarish Jethwani. In its final findings, the agency told the court that the investigation revealed that the alleged offences were committed solely by accused no. 1, Kadambari Jethwani. It said a supplementary chargesheet would be filed only if fresh evidence against the three family members emerged during further investigation.What began as an extortion complaint against the actress evolved into a statewide controversy after she accused senior police officers of harassment, leading to action against top police officials. The CID has now placed before the court its findings alleging that Kadambari alone carried out the offences, leaving it to the trial court to determine the merits of the case.
