New Delhi, Nov 19 (IANS) A Delhi court Thursday granted bail to the man who allegedly blackmailed sitar player Anoushka Shankar, the daughter of sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja allowed Junaid Khan’s bail plea and asked him to furnish a personal and surety bond of Rs. 50,000 each.

The court while granting bail said: “The trial of the case is likely to take more time, and, in my view, no useful purpose will be served by keeping the accused behind bars.”

In his bail plea, the accused had sought his release contending that the police failed to complete investigation as the chargesheet filed against him lacked vital reports from forensic department.

Delhi Police had earlier this week filed a chargesheet against Khan and slapped charges of extortion against him under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Information Technology Act.

Khan was arrested by the Special Cell in Mumbai Sep 14 for allegedly blackmailing Anoushka after obtaining her private photographs by hacking her e-mails.

Delhi Police had also issued letters rogatory to the US authorities seeking assistance from judicial authorities there to help in collection of evidence in the case. Anoushka’s e-mail ID was allegedly hacked by Khan between May 11 and Sep 14. Anoushka divides her time between India and the US.

“During interrogation, Khan disclosed that he forwarded e-mails, including private photographs of Anoushka, to her ID but later deleted them,” police said.

The accused, who claims to be a sub-dealer in a share trading firm in Mumbai, has been in judicial custody following his arrest.

On Aug 8, a home ministry official had asked police to investigate a complaint by Ravi Shankar, saying his daughter was being harassed and blackmailed after some material, including her pictures, were stolen from her laptop that she had submitted for repairs to a south Delhi-based service centre.