NEW DELHI: Actor Nora Fatehi told a Delhi court on Friday that she was first introduced to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar over the phone by his wife, Leena Paulose, after she attended an event in Chennai in December 2020.Fatehi appeared as a listed witness before additional sessions judge Gagandeep Singh in the Rs 200-crore extortion case involving Chandrasekhar.She told the court that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police had called her during the investigation and questioned her about Leena and Sukesh.Recounting how she met Leena and came in contact with Sukesh, Fatehi said, “In December 2020, I was booked for an event in Chennai and Leena Paulose was the organiser. She booked me through an agency in the name of Exceed Entertainment. I was booked as an artiste for a charity event. I met Leena Paulose for the first time at the event itself,” the actor said.Fatehi said she was a Canadian citizen and had been working in Indian films since 2014. Her work is currently managed by Dharma and T-Series.“As per procedure, me being a foreigner, if anyone wants to book my services as an artiste, they have to go through the management company, and the payment is also made to the company.“In the present case for the Chennai event, I did not get any fee; however, the travelling expenses, staff cost, hair and make-up artist were taken care of by the person who booked us, and we stayed in a five-star hotel for one night,” Nora said.She said T-Series was her employer at the time, while employees of Exceed Entertainment handled the entire event in Chennai.“When I was getting ready for the event, the team informed me that Leena, along with her family members, wanted to meet me. Thereafter, they came to my room with two videographers and other people. They were also carrying some gifts. Leena introduced herself as the owner of Nail Artistry Salon,” she said.According to Fatehi, Leena then told her that her husband wanted to “say hello” to her before calling Sukesh and putting the phone on speaker mode.“The husband (Sukesh) told me: ‘Thank you for coming; we are huge fans and we would like to do more events in future’… During the same conversation, Leena also informed me about gifting a car, which her husband also requested that I should accept it as a gift,” Fatehi said.“After the end of the conversation, I, along with my team, went for the event. I appeared as a chief guest where I judged a dance event…,” she added.The court has asked Fatehi to appear again on November 30. She had previously been summoned twice.On Friday, when Fatehi’s counsel sought exemption from her appearance, the court said that she should have been present as a witness. “Your conduct is not proper. Don’t take the court for granted,” it said.(With inputs from PTI)
