Paytm Extortion Case: Police Claims To Have Eyewitnesses, Says Plan Hatched In A Delhi Hotel

The Noida Police said that they have a breakthrough in the Paytm extortion case, claiming that they have multiple witnesses against the three alleged conspirators — Paytm vice president, communications, Sonia Dhawan, her husband Roopak Jain, along with another Paytm employee, Devendra Kumar.

According to the police, the trio had hatched the conspiracy to blackmail the company’s founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, over a series of meetings in a Delhi hotel, the name for which was not disclosed. From the hotel room, they allegedly used to direct the fourth accused, Rohit Chomal, on how to make the extortion calls and what to tell Sharma.

On December 6, the Noida Police had filed chargesheet against the four accused.

Speaking to Inc42, Station House Officer (SHO), Sector 20 of Noida Police Station Manoj Pant, who is the lead investigating officer in this case, said, “ As the matter is under subjudice, it would not be appropriate to disclose everything. However, I must say we found ample evidence against Sonia Dhawan and her husband. We have recorded statements from multiple eyewitnesses in this case.”

Sonia Dhawan and the other accused in the Paytm extortion case had allegedly hatched the conspiracy to blackmail the company’s founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, over a series of meetings in a Delhi hotel, police have informed the Court.

The 250-page chargesheet was filed in less than two months. SHO Pant, said their probe had revealed that the accused would talk to each other over phone and discuss their plan for hours at a stretch. The Police has also claimed to have the call recordings of these conversations.

The accused have been booked under  IPC sections 381 (theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master), 384 (punishment for extortion), 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant), 120 B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), and Section 66 of the IT Act, 2008.

Charges Are Bogus, Says Dhawan’s Lawyer

Speaking to Inc42, Satish Kumar, the lawyer who is solely handling the case for Sonia Dhawan and Roopak Jain said that while he is yet to receive a copy of chargesheet, there is not much difference in the chargesheet and FIR filed earlier. “All the charges are bogus,” Kumar claimed, saying that that the conspiracy was infact hatched against Sonia Dhawan and her husband, where even the fourth accused Rohit Chomal is seemed to have ganged up with Sharmas (Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and his brother Ajay Shekhar Sharma).

Kumar told that the next hearing on Dhawan’s plea is on December 11.   

Pant had earlier said that the Noida police are in possession of documentary evidence and submissions from witnesses that corroborated the complaint registered by the complainant Ajay Sharma, after which the police decided to go ahead with the chargesheet.

The police have also recovered the data that Devendra Kumar obtained from Dhawan, allegedly with the knowledge of her husband, confirming there was “criminal data-theft of a severe nature.

All three accused were arrested on October 22 for their alleged involvement in an extortion attempt targeted at Paytm chief Vijay Shekhar Sharma. The trio was later sent on police remand for 14 days by the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Gautam Buddha Nagar, (Noida).