Nora appears as witness in Sukesh Chandrasekhar extortion case

Actor Nore 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. Fatehi, a Canadian citizen with roots in Morocco, told the court that she was in India on a work visa with T-Series, a giant in the Indian music industry and had been working in Indian films since 2014. She also told the court about her visit to Chennai and her meeting with Leena Paulose.
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. 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, "In the present case for the Chennai event, 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.
Earlier this month, Fatehi's counsel had sought an exemption for the actor from appearance, attracting the court's rebuke. "This cannot be taken lightly... As a witness, you should have appeared in court. Your conduct is not proper. Don't take the court for granted," the court said. Chandrashekhar is accused of running an extortion racket that swindled nearly Rs 200 crore from business people.