On the discovery of drugs in a trophy she was travelling with, Sadak 2 actor Chrisann Pereira was arrested and imprisoned in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Culprits who framed Pereira
The Mumbai crime branch arrested Rajesh Babhote, resident of Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra and Anthony Paul, Borivali resident in Mumbai. on Monday for allegedly deceiving actor Chrisann Pereira, 27, into being a drug mule. The actor has appeared in a number of well-known films, including Sadak-2 and Batla House.
Motive behind the plan
In Mumbai’s Malad and Borivali neighbourhoods, Paul owns a bakery. In the same apartment complex as Chrisann’s mother Premila, one of Paul’s sisters also resides. Paul had gone to visit his sister during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. That is when Premila’s pet dog growled at him and attempted to jump on him. Paul attempted to hit the dog with a chair in an effort to defend himself. Premila became enraged when she saw this and had ridiculed him in front of numerous other people living in the building. Thus Paul came up with the idea to accuse Chrisann of the crime as a form of revenge for the event.
How was the plan executed?
According to the source, on March 23, Premila received an SMS regarding real estate-related work on her cell phone, and that was when everything began. When Premila dialled the number, Ravi took her call. Premila was requested to meet him at his workplace. When Ravi questioned Premila about her family during their meeting, she mentioned that her daughter is a working actress. That is when Ravi claimed to be the owner of a talent agency “Talent Pool,” which he said was on the hunt for an actor in an international production.
Pramila provided Chrisann his phone number and requested for a meet at the Grand Hyatt. The source claims that Ravi assured her that he would even cover her hotel and travel expenses while she was in Dubai. She received round-trip tickets from him on March 27 and was informed that she would have people to pick her up in Sharjah.
Ravi handed Chrisann the trophy holding the drugs before she left for UAE, emphasizing that she would need it for the audition. This was convincing enough for the actress to carry the trophy with herself.
When Chrisann arrived in Sharjah, she checked into the hotel to confirm her stay but discovered that her name did not appear in the list of reservations for the hotel. She then went up to the police officers carrying the trophy. But when the drugs were discovered inside it, she was stopped and eventually taken into custody.
The family lost communication with the actor shortly after that. Paul assured Pramila that his contacts in the UAE would secure the release of her daughter when the latter mentioned that she was unable to reach her. Later, Paul demanded Rs 80 lakh from the family in exchange for helping them.
After receiving a complaint from the family, the police launched a probe under the Indian Penal Code as well as the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985. Lakhmi Gautam, the Joint Commissioner of Police for Crime, began an investigation into the incident, and a FIR was filed at the Vakola police station.
The authorities discovered during the course of the probe that Paul had come up with the entire scheme and that Ravi had assisted him in carrying it out. Paul has been taken into custody, and Ravi is currently being interrogated.
Police will get in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs’ officials, and through the proper procedures, they will let UAE authorities know that the actress had been set up by the accused.
