A court here on Friday sent Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary and Zee Business editor Samir Ahluwalia to 14 days judicial custody in the Tihar Central Jail after the police said their custodial interrogation was not needed.
They stand accused of demanding Rs. 100-crore from Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. in the form of advertisements in return for diluting the campaign launched by their news channels against the company in connection with the coal block allocation scam.
The two editors also moved bail applications, following which Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Rao issued notice to the Delhi Police to reply on Saturday, when arguments will also be taken up.
The court also set the police at liberty to probe the cheating charge under which the duo have been booked.
The arrested journalists were also booked for extortion and criminal conspiracy.
The police said senior Zee Group officials Amit Tripathi, Jawahar Goel and A. Mohanan had joined the probe and recorded their statements. Zee News directors Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka are yet to join the probe, they added.
