"I got so anxious that I started crying.”
TV actress Chahatt Khanna has claimed that she was lured into visiting alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar in Tihar Jail where he proposed to her.
When she told him that she was married with two children, she was told that her husband was not the right man for her.
Chahatt said that at the time, she did not know it was Sukesh who was proposing to her.
She thought she was meeting the “owner of a popular south Indian TV channel”, who was the nephew of the late J Jayalalithaa.
Speaking about her meeting with Sukesh at Tihar Jail, Chahatt said that the man was smartly dressed and wearing a gold chain. He introduced himself as the owner of a popular south Indian TV channel, and J Jayalalithaa’s nephew.
Chahatt told ETimes: “He said he was a fan of mine and had watched my TV show, Bade Acche Lagte Hain, and wanted to meet me.
“I was frantic and told him, ‘Why would you call me here? I have left my six-month-old baby at home and have come here thinking it’s an event’.
“Then, before I knew it, he went down on one knee and said he wanted to marry me.
“I shouted at him, saying, ‘I am married and I have two kids’.
“But he said my husband was not the right man for me and that he would be a father to my kids. I got so anxious that I started crying.”
Chahatt Khanna said she realised she actually met Sukesh Chandrashekhar just over a year ago when she was summoned by the ED in relation to the money laundering case.
After returning to Mumbai, Chahatt claimed she was being blackmailed by two people.
She said: “These two men stopped my sister-in-law on the road and told her that they had footage of me inside Tihar jail, which they would give to a TV channel if we didn’t pay them Rs. 10 Lakh (£9,800).
“I started getting calls from an unknown number when I was at my parents’ residence in Virar.
“The caller said he had got the footage from government officials and would give it to a TV channel. I was certain Angel [Khan] was behind this and called her, but she soon blocked me.
“I agreed to give them Rs. 3 Lakh (£2,900), for which I borrowed Rs. 1 Lakh (£990) from my father.
“They asked me to leave the money at a spot in Virar, which I did. Till today, I don’t know who the guys were.”
She revealed that the incident took a toll on her marriage.
Chahatt Khanna said: “I was helpless. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was in Tihar Jail.
“I was also worried about it affecting my marriage, and so I agreed to give them the money.
“Among other things, it did take a toll on my marriage, and my husband and I separated.
“Maybe I should have approached the police and lodged a complaint. But things kept happening one after the other and I just wanted to get out of it.”