Arrested film actress wanted in another cheating case

Leena Maria Paul, an actress of Hindi and Tamil films arrested here for helping her male friend in a cheating case of Rs.19 crore, was also wanted in another cheating case in Chennai, police said Wednesday.

On the basis of photographs available with Chennai police, Paul, 25, was arrested Monday here. "Paul was wanted in another cheating case by Crime Branch of Chennai police," said the official.

Paul, who was arrested for helping her male friend Balaji alias Sekar Reddy alias Sukkesh Chandrasekar in cheating a Chennai based-Canara Bank of Rs.19 crore, will be seen in actor John Abraham's upcoming production "Madras Cafe".

In a joint operation of Delhi and Chennai police the actress was arrested near the Ambience Mall in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj area along with four bouncers.

The weapons, seized from the bouncers, have an all-India licence obtained from Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir but are not endorsed by the Delhi licensing branch.

Balaji, who became aware of police presence fled in a Land Cruiser.

According to police, Balaji had approached Canara Bank in Chennai posing as an IAS officer and got a Rs.19 crore loan sanctioned using forged documents on the pretext of opening a firm.

"They came to Delhi and started living here at a farmhouse in Asola village situated in Fatehpur Beri area a month ago," said an official. Nine luxury cars were recovered from the farmhouse.

"Paul revealed that she did her schooling in Dubai, where her parents live. Her father is an engineer there. She was modelling and acting in films for the past two years," said the official.

The Delhi Police took up the investigation after a team from the Tamil Nadu Police approached them May 25 to trace the duo. On the basis of details available with the Tamil Nadu Police, they were located in a farmhouse.