The Mumbai Police have arrested two men for allegedly cheating a 27-year-old actor by promising her a role in a Hollywood web series and then sending her for an "audition" to the UAE's Sharjah city, where she was later caught in an alleged drugs case, an official said.
The police on Monday arrested the accused -- Ravi Bobhate and Anthony Paul -- who also cheated the actor's mother, Pramila Pareira, by promising her hefty commissions in real estate deals in Hyderabad, he said.
The incident came to light when 56-year-old Pareira approached the crime branch with a complaint that her daughter, Krissan, had been cheated under the pretext of providing her a role in a Hollywood web series, the official said.
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According to the complaint, accused Bobhate contacted her posing as a web series financer working on a project between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and offered a role to Krissan, who has worked in Hindi web shows, movies and plays, he said.
Accordingly, the complainant discussed the offer with her daughter and after meeting the accused person, the schedule of her overseas journey for an "audition" was finalised, said the official.
The actor was scheduled to go to the UAE's Dubai city, but her air tickets were booked from Mumbai to Sharjah for April 1 and she was supposed to return on April 3. Around the same time, Pareira went to Hyderabad with accused Paul to finalise a property deal, he said.
While in Hyderabad, Pareira got a call informing her that Krissan has been caught at the Sharjah airport with opium and cannabis, the official said. The UAE authorities informed the Indian embassy about the case and information was also shared with the Mumbai Police.
Paul told Pareira he has contacts in Sharjah and sought Rs 80 lakh from her to help her daughter, he said. At this point, Pareira realised she and her daughter had been cheated and approached the crime branch with the complaint.
During investigation, it came to light that Paul and Bobhate together hatched a conspiracy to cheat the mother-daughter duo, the official said. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed and sleuths of Unit 10 of the Mumbai crime branch arrested the accused from different locations in Mumbai, he said, adding further probe was on.