Mumbai, Nov. 24 -- A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of a 35-year-old engineer from Texas, accused of creating multiple fake email accounts of a film industry professional from Mumbai to send obscene, threatening and defamatory messages to him and his associates for extortion. According to the police, the incident dates back to 2022, when the complainant, AS Khandelwal, found that a fake Instagram account impersonating him was sending obscene messages to his contacts. Over the following months, Khandelwal and his relatives allegedly received numerous abusive and threatening emails from several fake IDs. Messages were circulated to over 100 people, including relatives and the complainant's girlfriend's family. One email allegedly warned that defamatory content would continue for seven years unless Rs.3 lakh was paid. Khandelwal then filed a complaint, after which the CBI's investigation revealed that at least 20 email IDs had been created, which were linked to one Zohair Siraj's US phone number. During the hearing on November 17, special judge AV Gujarathi held that the CBI had established a strong prima facie case against Siraj. The emails, it observed, contained vulgar, "dirty" and "anti-social" remarks not only about the complainant but also about the police, judiciary and political leaders. Calling the case a "white-collar crime" with indications of possible wider involvement, the court said custodial interrogation was necessary for a thorough probe, to uncover the full extent of the operation, recover digital devices and identify other potential victims. An intervener representing the complainant argued that Siraj's plea was not maintainable since he continued to live abroad and had not submitted himself to the court's jurisdiction. While the court held that the application was technically maintainable, it noted that before granting anticipatory bail, the applicant must be within the court's jurisdiction so that bail conditions can be effectively enforced. The court concluded that Siraj had not demonstrated that the case was false or motivated, while rejecting the bail plea....