Mumbai:
A Sessions court on Thursday released on bail a man who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of extorting money from filmmaker Rakesh Roshan.
Rajesh Ranjan was released on bond of Rs one lakh and surety of the same amount. The court warned him not to tamper with evidence. The court enlarged him on the ground that the probe was over and his police custody was not required further.
CBI prosecutor Bharat Badami opposed his bail, saying he might tamper with evidence if released. However, Ranjan's lawyer argued that his client will cooperate with the probe.
Along with Ranjan, his accomplice Ashwini Kumar was also arrested and he is still in CBI custody. He too has applied for bail and arguments on his plea are still on.
Kumar allegedly impersonated as an officer of the Central probe agency and extorted money from Roshan. He (Kumar) was introduced as a CBI officer to Roshan by Ranjan.
Ranjan had approached Roshan saying CBI has registered a case against him and could issue an arrest warrant. Ranjan also told the filmmaker that Kumar was a senior officer.
Kumar had claimed that Ranjan and Bina Shah, who own Spectrum Entertainment, have filed a case against Roshan in connection with his 2010 Hindi film 'Kites'.
Though the suit was earlier dismissed, Roshan thought a fresh case has been filed. Kumar demanded money from the filmmaker and threatened that if his demand was not met, his entire family, including actor-son Hrithik and the latter's wife Suzanne, would be arrested, CBI told the court.
According to CBI, on June 13, Rakesh paid a "huge amount" of money to Ranjan. Suspecting something fishy, Roshan approached CBI on August 20. CBI then nabbed Ranjan after which Kumar's phone was put under surveillance and he was traced to Panipat from where he was arrested.