Actor Chrisann Pereira’s return to India likely to be delayed

The family members of the Sadak 2 actor are upset due to the undue delay on the part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities in allowing her to return to India even after she is cleared of all the charge

MUMBAI: The return of actor Chrisann Pereira, who was framed in a drug case and eventually cleared of all charges by a Sharjah court, to India is likely to be delayed as the authorities in Sharjah have informed her family that the decision to release her passport could take a month or two.

Mumbai, India - April 24, 2023: The crime branch on Monday arrested a Borivali resident Anthony Paul and detained his associate Rajesh Babhote alias Ravi for allegedly framing a 27-year-old actor Chrisann Pereira (in pic) into becoming a drug mule. The actor worked in some of the noted films like Sadak-2 and Batla House. Chrisann was given the trophy before boarding the flight. (HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

The family members of the Sadak 2 actor are upset due to the undue delay on the part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities in allowing her to return to India even after she is cleared of all the charges.

“We thought that once the case was closed, she would return home immediately, but that is not the case. It was understandable when the case was still on, but why the delay now,” asked her brother Kevin Pereira.

Kevin Pereira said they were informed by the jail authorities that her passport had been sent to a committee to decide if she could return to India and this process can take between one and two months. The case has been closed by the police, yet we must wait for this long, he added.

“My sister is losing her mental health day by day and anyone would. It is really unfair after being proved innocent what she and we are going through. We have asked the Indian Embassy to intervene and help us,” the actor’s brother said.

The 27-year-old actor was detained at Sharjah airport on April 1 after drugs were found in a plaque that had been handed over to her just before leaving Mumbai.

Kevin Pereira said that they had been fighting a legal battle in Sharjah court for over two months and on June 13 the legal process was finally over. Chrisann Pereira had to spend 25 days in Sharjah Central Jail before she was granted bail on the condition that her passport would be confiscated until investigation was completed.

The Mumbai crime branch had arrested a baker, Anthony Paul and his associate Rajesh Bobhate alias Ravi and Shantilal Rajput for framing the actor and four others using similar modus of concealing drugs without their knowledge in cakes or plaques and asking the victims to deliver the same in the UAE.

This week, the crime branch filed a 1,514-page charge sheet in the Esplanade court against the trio. The chargesheet stated that Paul, with the help of the others, framed the actor and the four others by planting drugs in trophies and cakes and handed the same over to them while leaving for Sharjah and subsequently tried to extort money from their families under the guise of trying to help the victims secure legal assistance in the Middle East. The charge sheet revealed that Paul had destroyed two mobile phones and four SIM cards, which he allegedly used in the crime, and threw them into the Mithi river in Dahisar.