Actress Chrisann Pereira, who resides in Mumbai and was arrested in Sharjah after being falsely accused of dealing narcotics, was freed from jail on Wednesday by UAE officials. She is scheduled to go back to India within the next 48 hours. A day before to this event, the Mumbai Police had detained Anthony Paul and Rajesh Bobate, alias Ravi, two suspects who had allegedly used narcotics to frame the woman.
Chrisann was imprisoned after being discovered carrying cocaine concealed within a trophy.
Paul (35), a Borivali bakery owner, and Ravi, a banker, are being held by police till May 2.
Chrisann, 27, was detained in Sharjah Prison since April 1 and requested an early release from the UAE prison, according to her heartbroken family in Mumbai. “We are requesting the assistance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Minister of External Affairs to obtain the release of our daughter in this situation…It is obvious that she was implicated in the whole incident during the Mumbai Police inquiry, according to her mother Premila Pereira, who spoke to the news agency IANS.
Both defendants have admitted to providing three people drug-laced prize trophies and two others drug-laced cakes before they boarded flights for Dubai, presumably as retaliation against the Pereira family. Two people, including Chrisann, unknowingly stepped into the trap, while three others were able to elude Sharjah's law enforcement.
By posing as a talent agent, the accused contacted Premila Pereira at the end of March with the intention of luring Chrisann to an audition for a part in a foreign web series in Sharjah. Additionally, he convinced the actress to transport the trophy containing the narcotics so that it could be sent to a friend in Sharjah who would provide information on the actress' hotel reservation.
When Chrisann arrived in Sharjah, she discovered that no one was there to see her at the airport. Instead, the local police arrived, found narcotics in the trophy, and took her to the prison. From April 1, they transferred her to the Sharjah Central Prison.
Paul, the alleged mastermind of the revenge scam, is reported to have had a long-standing resentment towards the Pereira family, particularly Premila (the mother), and even became physical with Kevin, Premila's son.
Police discovered that the accused Paul had used the same tactic with some other aspiring actresses, promising them high-paying parts in popular online shows. However, one of the potential performers turned down the trophy, which Chrisann subsequently decided to take with her.
The Mumbai Police are looking into numerous possibilities, but they do not believe that a narcotics cartel was involved. Instead, they believe that Paul used “revenge tactics” against all of the victims with whom he had some kind of conflict.
A rising star in the acting world, Chrisann has appeared in films including “Sadak 2,” “Batla House,” the online series “Thinkistan,” and other stage productions. She now resides in the suburb of Borivali with her family.
