The District Court in Noida has set November 14 as the date for the next hearing on the bail application of Rupak Jain, one of the four accused in the alleged Paytm extortion case. On Monday, Jain appeared before the district judge in Surajpur Court through video-conferencing. However, the family of Sonia Dhawan, the key accused and wife of Rupak Jain, has not moved court for her bail. On October 24, the three accused — Sonia, the vice-president, corporate communications/PR at Paytm; her husband Rupak Jain, a property dealer; and Devendra Kumar, an employee with Paytm’s administration department — were sent to 14-day judicial custody by the magistrate. The three were arrested by Noida police for allegedly stealing Paytm chief Vijay Sharma’s personal data and blackmailing him for Rs 10 crore. Sonia’s lawyer Prashant Tripathi said: “Rupak is being represented by another law firm. I am waiting for the family’s go-ahead. So far, the family has shown reluctance in moving forward for Sonia’s bail. There have been disagreements on our ends. She has claimed innocence.” Sonia’s mother refused to comment on the case.
