Accused’s confession, Chrisann’s actions aided her release: cops

Ahmed Ali (THE TIMES OF INDIA; April 29, 2023)

Mumbai: Actor Chrisann Pereira who was allegedly framed in a drugs case in Sharjah is likely to fly to Mumbai on Monday, police sources said.

Police further said the Sharjah court will hear her case on Monday and take a call on India’s request to discharge her in the alleged fake case and release her passport. Mumbai police have received communication through an official channel which states: “Pereira’s passport confisticated and she temporarily released on bail”.

“We have been told that on Monday the court will decide on handing over Pereira’s passport. Till now, everything has gone in her favour and she was released from such serious charges of drug trafficking. We don’t expect any hurdles now,” said an officer.

If her passport is released, Pereira will fly to Mumbai late on Monday. Pereira’s parents and brother met the joint commissioner of police (crime) Lakhmi Gautam and deputy commissioner of police K K Upadhaya on Friday and thanked them for their efforts in unearthing the conspiracy of planting drugs.

The city crime branch had arrested baker Anthony Paul and his accomplice banker Rajesh Bhobhate alias Ravi earlier this week for allegedly orchestrating a fake audition for a web series in Sharjah, and sending and planting drugs on Pereira on April 1 over some grudge.

Mumbai police are now trying for the release of Clayton Rodrigues who too was arrested in February by Sharjah authorities for carrying a cake laced with a narcotic substance planted by the same accused duo.

The city crime branch on Friday recorded the statement of Rodrigue’s wife Falyn and is exploring the possibility of registering a fresh case against the arrested accused.

Police are preparing documents which will be presented before the Sharjah court when Rodrigues’s matter comes on board next week. The cake was not only laced with drugs but Sharjah officials were tipped off about a chit along with the parcel which mentioned that he was carrying 50 more kg of drugs.

Falyn has engaged the same set of lawyers that helped Pereira’s case and she is likely to fly to Sharjah to present her husband’s case.

During the course of investigation, police reportedly learnt that the duo had similarly planted drugs on Rodrigues and three other victims —Monisha Dmello, Rishikesh Pandya and Ken Rodrigues—over some grudge with them or their kin.

An official said in Sharjah a punishment for carrying drugs ranges from four years to life imprisonment. Meanwhile, a day after Pereira was released on bail from Sharjah jail, she tweeted about the time she spent in jail. She said she washed her hair with washing powder and made coffee using toilet water.

Immediately after her tweets were reported by the media, on Friday, she deleted those posts after being told by her well-wishers that she has been released on bail, her case is still pending and her passport is with the Sharjah authorities.
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Actress voluntarily reported to authorities that she had been duped, she was eventually found to be truthful
Faizan Khan (MID-DAY; April 29, 2023)

Officials in Sharjah, who have been coordinating with the Mumbai Crime Branch, have identified certain critical factors that aided in actress Chrisann Pereira's early release from prison. One of them was the case filed by the crime branch and the subsequent arrest of the accused individuals.

“The confession of the accused proved that Pereira was duped under the guise of being offered a role in an international web series,” said an officer. The second aspect was her voluntarily reporting to the authorities that she had been duped after arriving in Sharjah on April 1, although she was subsequently arrested after ganja and opium were discovered in her possession.

Upon further investigation, Sharjah police officials checked the CCTV footage of the Sharjah airport and found that Pereira had discarded the trophy in a dustbin and left the airport. “As specific information about her was not provided, the authorities did not frisk her upon arrival in Sharjah. They discovered that she had returned to the airport after speaking with her family, retrieved the trophy from the dustbin and informed the authorities. This worked in her favour because no criminal returns and voluntarily informs the authorities,” added an officer.

The Pereira family recently met with Joint Commissioner of Crime Lakhmi Gautam, who played a key role in securing Chrisann Pereira's early release. Additionally, the Mumbai Crime Branch has recorded a statement from Clayton Rodrigues's wife, who has been incarcerated in Sharjah Jail since February after falling victim to the scheme of the accused, Anthony Paul.

“We are currently evaluating Rodrigues’s case and translating all the relevant documents from Arabic to English. Once completed, we will submit our full investigative report to the Sharjah authorities to assist in his case,” stated a senior Mumbai police officer.

Upon investigation, officials discovered that Clayton Rodrigues had been in possession of a commercial quantity of drugs in Sharjah. The drugs were found concealed within a cake given to him by the accused. Additionally, a chit was found that contained a message stating that the accused had more ganja.