The Mumbai Police have filed a chargesheet against Malad-based baker Anthony Paul and his associates Rajesh Bobhate alias Ravi and Shantilal Rajput for allegedly framing actor Chrisann Pereira in a drugs case.
Pereira, who acted in Mahesh Bhatt-directed Bollywood movie Sadak 2, spent nearly a month in a prison in the UAE after a small quantity of a narcotic drug was found concealed in a memento allegedly given to her by the accused.
The 1,514-page chargesheet alleges that after the actor’s arrest at the Sharjah airport on April 1, Paul and Bobhate demanded Rs 80 lakh from her mother to arrange her release.
The actor was released after the Mumbai police sent case-related documents to the authorities in the UAE.
Following are the chargesheet details accessed by News18:
- The chargesheet includes records of the calls that Anthony Paul made to the victims, including Pereira. It also mentions the call Paul made to the actor while he was in Hyderabad. It mentions that Paul allegedly destroyed two mobile phones and four SIM cards suspected to have been used in the crime, and dumped them in Mithi river in Dahisar
- Audio recordings of phone conversations between the victim’s family members and Paul, who allegedly demanded money to get Periera released, have also been included
- The chargesheet also contains statements of 20 witnesses
- It mentions CCTV footage from Mumbai airport which shows the accused handing over the memento to the victim
- Paul had allegedly purchased the drugs from Rajput saying he required them for a relative who was suffering from jaundice in December, 2022. He paid Rs 6,000 for 500 gram of ganja
- Statements from the shopkeeper in whose shop Paul printed fake return ticket for the victim have been included as well
- Paul reportedly purchased the memento, which was used to hide the drugs, from a shop in Kandivali. Statement of the person who sold the memento has also been included. Paul had allegedly told the shop owner that he wanted to buy 40 trophies to sell them in his own store, but was currently only purchasing two trophies as samples
- CCTV footage of the location in Hyderabad where the call was made from is also part of the chargesheet
The accused had allegedly used the same modus operandi to target Mumbai-based DJ Clayton Rodrigues, who was sentenced to 25 years in jail by a court in Sharjah for alleged possession of drugs.
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