Jacqueline Fernandez was contacted by Sukesh through hairdresser

Jacqueline Fernandez made headlines after the actor was summoned by India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection to a money laundering case involving jailed conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.

In June, Jacqueline appeared at the ED headquarters, following the summons to record her statement in the case. Prior to this, alleged photos of Jacqueline and Sukesh together were widely shared online; however, the actor has denied dating him. Now, a new report reveals how Sukesh first started talking to Jacqueline from inside Tihar Jail in 2021. 

Initially, Jacqueline did not respond to messages sent to her by Sukesh, who later approached the actor through her hairdresser, as per the report. In his introduction, Sukesh had reportedly said he was the owner of a TV network and a jewellery brand. He also said he was someone 'close to' Home Minister Amit Shah. The report added that during her questioning, Jacqueline told investigators that she was not aware that Sukesh, who is accused of a ₹200 crore money laundering case, was calling her from inside the jail, and that she wondered why he 'avoided meeting her at occasions'.

"She (Jacqueline) claimed that he met her only twice while he was out of jail on parole. One of these meetings happened in Chennai. Whenever Fernandez would ask for a meeting, he would say he was stuck due to Covid restrictions. This was also the time when Covid struck and there was a lockdown. Then came the second wave (of the pandemic)… (Sukesh) Chandrasekhar was, however, in constant touch with Fernandez through video calls that he made from the office space that he had created inside Tihar jail," sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told ThePrint.

As per the report, Jacqueline also said that she had read about Sukesh once in the news and had asked their go-between about it, but was told that he has been 'implicated in a false case'. She was reportedly also told by the go-between that all this 'keeps happening with big businessmen'.

Earlier, Sukesh's lawyer told media that Jacqueline was dating him. However, the actor's team had denied her involvement with Sukesh. She has appeared before the ED for questioning on several occasions, the latest being June 27. In April, the agency had attached assets worth ₹7.27 crore of the actor in the case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. In December 2021, Jacqueline was stopped from boarding a flight to Muscat from Mumbai airport after the ED issued a lookout circular in her name.