NEW DELHI – A Delhi court today dismissed the bail plea of two senior journalists of Zee Newschannel and remanded them to two-day police custody on a complaint by Congress MP Naveen Jindal’s group that they tried to extort Rs.100 crore for not broadcasting news reports on coal scam linking his firm.
Police told the court that Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Zee News, and Punit Goenka, MD of the channel, are also accused in the case.
It said Chandra was complicit in the demand of money.
Metropolitan Magistrate Gomati Manocha remanded Sudhir Chaudhary, the head of Zee News, and Samir Ahluwalia, head of Zee Business, to police custody till November 30.
The police had sought three days custody of both the accused with Additional Public Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan arguing that their sustained interrogation was necessary to unearth the conspiracy in the case.
The police also said the two editors are accused of demanding Rs 100 crore from Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) in the form of advertisments to the channel.
JSPL is among the companies named in the CAG report as one of the beneficiaries of the controversial coal block allocations.
Police told the court that Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Zee News, and Punit Goenka, MD of the channel, are also accused in the case.
It said Chandra was complicit in the demand of money.
Both the journalists have been booked under section 384 (extortion), 420 (cheating), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the IPC.
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