MUMBAI: Actress Chrisann Pereira was launched from a Sharjah jail late on Wednesday. Her brother Kevin, who has been lobbying for her launch after she was allegedly framed in a medication case, posted a video of a tearful Chrisann facetiming her mom after her launch and he mentioned, “Chrisann is SET FREE!!! She might be in India within the subsequent 48 hours.”
Nonetheless, the case has forged the highlight on Borivali resident Anthony Paul, now arrested, for not simply framing the Sadak 2 actress but in addition 4 others as a part of an extortion racket.
Police say that Paul, a baker by career, ran up a heavy debt and got here up with this convoluted ploy of extracting cash from households after organising his unsuspecting victims as drug mules and getting them arrested at Sharjah airport the place he would name and provides the authorities a tip off about sure incoming passengers carrying medication.
A police officer, who’s a part of the investigation, mentioned that 34-year-old Paul had travelled to Hyderabad with Pareira’s mom on the day the actress was arrested in Sharjah. Paul had informed her mom that he had contacts in Sharjah and provided to assist the actress by arranging a lawyer for her in Sharjah. He had initially quoted a sum of ₹1 crore for providing this assist which he later introduced all the way down to ₹80 lakh. Paul had equally contacted households of his different victims, boasting of his purported contacts in Sharjah and providing to assist the victims for financial issues.
The crime department officer mentioned that Paul had began a fisheries unit alongside together with his affiliate Rajesh Babhote alias Ravi who too is arrested within the case for abetting the baker’s schemes, and incurred heavy losses. Paul owed round ₹15 lakh to Babhote, 42, who’s a deputy common supervisor with IDBI Financial institution.
Babhote has claimed throughout his police interrogation that he was not conscious of Paul’s plans to plant narcotics on his victims after which sending them to Sharjah beneath the pretext of getting them work alternatives there. He informed the police that he tried to assist Paul in no matter method he might in sending individuals to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) solely to get his a reimbursement.
As has been beforehand reported, Chrisann was despatched to Sharjah, UAE, for an audition. A bit earlier than she boarded the flight, she was given a trophy full of medication – the identical trophy that one in every of Paul’s different victims, Rishikesh Pandya, had refused to hold. She was informed that the trophy was a part of the audition prop. However when she landed at Sharjah on April 1, she was promptly arrested by the authorities and later taken to Sharjah central jail.
The crime department officers additionally learnt throughout their investigation that Paul had a grouse with Chrisann’s mom —Premila Pereira—and therefore, he hatched a plan to border her daughter promising her an audition for a world web-series in Sharjah. Earlier than Chrisann he had used the identical modus operandi on three different Borivali residents, one in every of whom was equally arrested. Clayton Rodrigues, a disc jockey by career, was trapped in Sharjah carrying a drugs-laced cake, given to him by Paul, and he’s nonetheless in jail in Sharjah, say cops.
Paul, 35, is a resident of LIC Colony, a middle-class neighbourhood in Borivali and runs bakeries in Malad and Borivali. He completed his education at Mira Street, the place his inside designer father shifted when Paul was 5, and accomplished his junior faculty from St Andrew’s faculty, Bandra. In 2006, Paul went to Melbourne, Australia, to review “administration in hospitality” and stayed there till 2012.
Chrisann’s mom too lives in LIC Colony together with her kids, and about 5 years in the past Paul and she or he received acquainted, mentioned police inspector Deepak Sawant of crime department unit 10. As per the FIR, on March 23, Chrisann acquired a message from an individual who claimed to be a sure Ravi—in actual fact it was Babhote—saying that he ran a agency known as ‘Expertise Pool’ and aksed her to come back for an interview to a suburban five- star resort for a possible position in a world internet sequence on March 25.
On the so-called interview, she was informed that she would wish to go to Dubai for a day on April 1 to audition, and that the bills might be borne by Expertise Pool. Accordingly, Chrisann’s ticket was booked for Sharjah on April 1 and she or he was knowledgeable {that a} automobile could be obtainable on the airport to take her from Sharjah to Dubai. The return ticket was additionally booked for April 3. Ravi subsequent met her on the first afternoon round 2:30 at a espresso store in Andheri the place Babhote, appearing as Ravi, handed her a trophy saying it was a part of the audition script.
When Chrisann reached Sharjah, she discovered that she had not been booked on the Hilton in Dubai as promised and informed her father on the telephone that it appeared she had been duped and she or he additionally threw the trophy within the dustbin. As per her household’s recommendation, she picked up the trophy and handed it over to the airport police at Sharjah and complained about being cheated, which was when she was detained and later arrested for drug smuggling, mentioned a criminal offense department officer.
Pareira’s household subsequently approached Mumbai crime department and began an investigation on the instruction of Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner of police. The FIR was registered on April 24 at Vakola police station primarily based on the assertion given by the actor’s mom Premila.
Subsequent police investigation revealed that Paul had equally framed 4 others –
His ex-girlfriend’s sister, a costume designer from Borivali. He suspected that she was chargeable for their break-up and subsequently he despatched her to Sharjah on January 15 for a “costume designing occasion” and as soon as once more he gave her drugs-laced cake to hold. Like Chrisann she too learnt upon reaching Sharjah that there was no such occasion, and she or he instantly booked her ticket and returned to Mumbai.
Paul’s second sufferer, Clayton Rodrigues, additionally a Borivali resident, is a DJ by career. He was despatched to Sharjah on February 6. Paul gave him a cake and likewise known as the Sharjah airport to tell them in regards to the drugs-laced cake. Rodrigues was caught and he’s nonetheless in Sharjah jail for drug smuggling.
Likewise, Ken Rodrigues was additionally despatched to Sharjah on March 1 with a trophy just like the one carried by Chrisann however fortunately, he received out of the airport with out getting caught and threw the trophy exterior the airport after noticing that he had been cheated and returned to India. Police mentioned Ken’s father works in Paul’s bakery and had some points with him and subsequently he needed to punish him.
Rishikesh Pandya, who works in occasion administration, was additionally despatched to Sharjah on March twenty fifth and he too was given a trophy – that ultimately Chrisann carried — to take with him to Sharjah however he didn’t carry the trophy with him and when he discovered that he had been duped, he returned to Mumbai. Police mentioned Pandya’s father-in-law works in Paul’s bakery in Malad and had had some dispute with him.
Case Research:
Clayton Rodrigues, a DJ
Falyn Rodrigues, Clayton Rodrigues’s spouse says she knew Paul’s girlfriend by work since 2012 and was launched to him in 2018. “Once they broke up, he known as my husband to assist patch issues up saying he meant to marry her,” says Falyn.
His girlfriend was earlier married to Anthony’s cousin and has a son from the wedding. This son, Falyn mentioned, would usually comment that Clayton reminded him of his father, which irked Paul.
On January 28, Clayton acquired a name from a person named Prasad Rao who mentioned that he was from a recruiting company. He mentioned that he needed to supply Clayton a job at their membership in Sahara Star for which he must give a demo to his bosses on the Buddha Bar in Dubai. Clayton met Rao the subsequent day on the espresso store of Western Inn to debate the gig. Rao then requested Clayton to ship copies of his passport and Aadhar card to ebook his ticket.
Clayton was to depart Mumbai on February 6, the day of his nine-year-old daughter’s communion the place Paul was current. The person known as Rao known as up Clayton after the communion, and requested him to satisfy him on the gate of ITC Lodge at Sahar saying he needed Clayton to select up a cake that he needed to ship to his bosses.
Falyn says she acquired a message from Rao’s quantity telling her that Clayton had been arrested in Sharjah with medication. “I used to be hysterical. Paul informed me that he would name Aaditya Thackeray and inform him to assist out within the matter,” she recalled.
Paul then pretended to make a couple of calls and informed Falyn that the authorities in Sharjah have been demanding ₹80 lakh to launch Clayton. “I’m alone with our daughter and my bedridden father-in-law and I didn’t know what to do. Just a few days in the past, I noticed a social media publish about Chrisann and related together with her brother. Now, we have now employed a lawyer in Sharjah and despatched him the required paperwork,” mentioned Falyn.
Rishikesh Pandya
Occasion administration government Rishikesh Pandya lives in Worli alongside together with his household and has a farmhouse in Malad (West). His father-in-law works in Paul’s bakery in Malad (West). “By him, I got here in touch with Paul round 4 months in the past. I don’t know why he deliberate to border me within the medication case,” says a befuddled Pandya.
On February 19 he received a name from somebody claiming to be Ravi whom he didn’t know. “He provided to introduce me to a few of his worldwide shoppers who might present me with events- associated enterprise. He requested me to satisfy him in a resort in Santacruz to debate the deal intimately,” he mentioned. Through the assembly, Ravi mentioned he was appearing as an agent for the consumer who lives in Dubai.
Discovering this fishy, Pandya refused to go forward with the deal. Nonetheless, he mentioned, Ravi stored calling him repeatedly. “He additionally gave me ₹10,000 in direction of the visa processing charge. I mentioned the provide with my spouse who spoke about it to her father within the bakery. Their dialog about how I discovered the provide to satisfy the consumer in Sharjah doubtful was overheard by Anthony,” he added.
He additional mentioned that Anthony interrupted their dialog and provided to accompany me to the subsequent assembly with Ravi to assist assess the genuineness of the provide. Pandya mentioned that Anthony got here together with him to the subsequent assembly.
“The 2 of them pretended to not know one another. After the assembly, Anthony began praising Ravi, saying he regarded like a real particular person,” mentioned Pandya. This prompted him to take up the provide. He was booked to fly out of Mumbai on March twenty first.