Surat: On health grounds, a local court on June 24 deferred till June 30 the bail plea of Sunanda Shetty, mother of actress Shilpa Shetty and prime accused in a case of alleged extortion.

In keeping with a court directive, Sunanda appeared in person and urged chief judicial magistrate R P Mehta to defer the case, as she was undergoing treatment in a Mumbai Hospital.

Her lawyer Kalpesh Desai moved an application, urging adjournment of the matter on health ground. He said Sunanda had remained present in deference to the wishes of the court, although she was unwell and under medical treatment.

Police have registered a case against Sunanda, her husband Surendra and two gangsters on the charge of allegedly extorting Rs 80 lakh from sari manufacturer Pankaj Agarwal. The money was payable to actress Shilpa Shetty, police said.

Police also claim to have in their possession tape recorded talks between Shilpa's parents and Agarwal, which reveal that the latter was allegedly threatened.

Sunanda and Surendra have denied the telephonic talks, saying they were manipulated and concocted. Surendra was arrested on May 21 after Gujarat High Court rejected his bail.

Surendra and Sunanda had obtained transit bail from a Mumbai court, which asked them to seek regular bail from a Surat court as the case was registered in Gujarat. both moved the Surat court for bail. Surendra's plea was rejected and he filed a fresh plea in Gujarat High Court, which also turned down his bail petition.

In a related development, police questioned former driver of Surendra Shetty Dilip Palsikar, who allegedly hired gangsters at the instance of the accused.

PTI