Baker bail rejected: Mumbai court considers traumatic days spent in Sharjah jail by actor Chrisann Pereira

The court also considered the police submission that there were four other victims, who were framed by Paul, including a DJ, Clayton Rodrigues who has been sentenced to 25 years in jail in Sharjah after being found in possession of a drug-laced cake.

Paul’s bail plea was rejected on October 10 and the detailed order was made available on Thursday.

“The statements of the other victims also indicate that the mentality of the applicant was such that he used to frame the victims with whom he had even a small dispute,” the court said. It added that it would be necessary to consider that if Paul was released, it would have an impact on the victims.

“….the present case needs to be considered from a different perspective. There are allegations of cheating as well as forgery. Considering the gravity of the offence, the application for bail cannot be allowed,” special judge A V Kharkar said in the order.

A person identified as Ravi visited Mumbai-based actor Pereira in March and offered her to work in a web series. She was asked to visit the UAE for an audition. Accordingly, on April 1, Pereira travelled to Sharjah. Before her travel, the person had given her a trophy to deliver in which drugs were concealed leading to her arrest there. She then spent nearly a month in jail before Indian authorities probed and found out that she was framed allegedly by Paul as revenge over a petty dispute with her mother earlier.

Paul while seeking bail had argued that no narcotic substance was recovered from him. He had also submitted through his lawyer Alisha Parekh that the trophy was undetected for any drugs at the Mumbai International Airport nor at Sharjah, as Pereira had herself approached authorities over its suspicious nature. She also said that the person from whom Paul is alleged to have brought the small quantity of drugs to frame Pereira was granted bail.

The police through special public prosecutor Wajeed Shaikh submitted that there were four other victims apart from Pereira, who were similarly framed by Paul over grudges he held with them and Rodrigues continues to be in prison in Sharjah.

He said the case cannot be looked at only within the provisions of the anti-drug law, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The police also submitted that there was other evidence including witnesses, like the trophy seller, which showed the involvement of Paul.