Bollywood actress Chrisann Pereira arrested in a drug case
What happened to aspiring actor Chrisann Pereira last month resembles the story of a Bollywood thriller.
When the 27-year-old starred in minor roles in Bollywood movies Sadak2 and Batla House, went from the western Indian city of Mumbai to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on 1 April, she had fireballs in her eyes.
What happened to Chrisann Pereira in Sharjah:
Chrisann had been informed that she would audition for a meaty character in a web show shown on a global platform, and her brother Kevin narrated the BBC.
But the trip to Sharjah landed Chrisann Pereira and her relatives in a nightmare – she was charged and imprisoned after a memento she was holding was found with drugs.
Three weeks after, she was finally freed after cops in Mumbai charged two men and accused them of framing Chrisann. She’s waiting to receive her passport before she can come back to India, Kevin said.
A police officer in Mumbai’s crime branch, who was part of the unit probing the case, told the BBC that a third man doubted of supplying the narcotics had also been charged and detained.
“It was vengeance, planned by the main charged – bakery owner Anthony Paul – and completed with help from his banker mate Rajesh Damodar Bobhate who also goes by nicknames such as Ravi Jain and Prasad Rao,” the officer said.
He said their study showed that the two had framed four other people before similarly and that one of them – Clayton Rodrigues – was still in jail in Sharjah.
Since they are in prison, Mr Paul and Mr Bobhate have not spoken about the allegations. But Mr Paul’s solicitor Ajay Dubey refused the accusations against him, asking them “completely false and malafide”. He accused Mr Bobhate of “misleading” his client and said he had nothing to do with the remembrance.
But Mr Bobhate’s spouse Sonal informed the BBC that Mr Paul had “framed” her hubby.
This story is about how Chrisann became a drug mule, told by Kevin, and is full of unimaginable twists and turns.
On 23 March, he says their mom, Premila Pereira, got a message from a guy who said he had met her at an event, was funding a web show, and wanted to release her daughter in it.
“When Chrisann saw him, he told her she would have to go to Dubai for the audition, but when he sent her a ticket, it was for Sharjah.”
Kevin states he told his sister to “be alert since one hears of so many frauds”, but “doubts didn’t even cross her mind”. “She was preparing for the audition and was keen regarding this brilliant chance,” he says.
Several hours before her flight, Kevin says Chrisann got a call from the same guy, asking her to see him on the way to the airport. There, he gave her a souvenir and asked her to give it to his friend in Sharjah.
“She came at 1:17 am and called our father about 2 am to say she had been scammed. She said no one could see her at the airport or make a hotel reservation in her name. Then she even told us about this remembrance.”
Kevin, who’d worked in an airline before, says that’s when he realised she was in a big problem.
“I advised her to go to the airport police and inform them of everything immediately. For the next 17 days, we were unable to contact Chrisann.”
The family filed a police complaint, and over the following few days, the Pereiras sent 15 emails, including to the prime minister, the Ministry of external affairs and the Indian consulate in Sharjah, requesting help.
“We finally got assurance from the Indian consulate that Chrisann was in Sharjah Central Prison for having drugs. When we searched, we found news that people could be penalised with 25 years in prison or even a death sentence. Everybody then got worried about her.”
