Actor Sushmita Sen in the news again not for her next project Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi or for her love life but following the arrest of two men -- Haren Choksi and Bala Shetty aka Vasu Panderi Thamalla by the Mumbai police.
Two persons who helped actress Sushmita Sen buy an imported SUV and indulged in various irregularities including undervaluing the vehicle and changing the chasis number were arrested today, a top police official said. However, Sen was innocent in the case.
Car dealer Haren Pravin Choksi and one Srinivas Bala Shetty, a casual labourer who was formerly working in Saudi Arabia, were arrested on April 25 for importing the Toyota Landcruiser for Sen in 2005 by stating that it was a case of Transfer of Residence (TR) due to which duties were evaded.
"Shetty was working in a garment factory in Saudi Arabia and fulfilled the terms for getting a car under TR. He was contacted by the cartel of which Choksi is a part and paid Rs 12,000 to allow the import of the vehicle in his name," DCP (Zone II) Ramrao Pawar told reporters.
Pawar however said that Sushmita was "innocent" and knew nothing of the modus operandi adopted by Choksi and the gang due to which she will not be made as an accused in the case. "She just paid Rs 56 lakh for getting the vehicle which she still uses," the police official added.
In the documentation, Choksi stated that it was a case of hypothecation where Sushmita was shown as having lent some money to Shetty for which the SUV was taken as a collateral. Though the SUV was manufactured in 2004, it was declared that it was made in 1998 for which the engine and chasis numbers were changed. "It was undervalued in the process and it also attracted lesser import duty as it was a case of TR," Pawar said.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence investigated the matter and found that the SUV was undervalued following which a fine of Rs 20 lakh was slapped. The civic body, which had earlier collected an octroi of Rs 2 lakh slapped a penalty of Rs 20 lakh due to which Sushmita filed a writ in the High Court.
Choksi was present at the High Court as per instructions while the police, which were repeatedly pulled up by the court, were successful in tracing Shetty to Andhra Pradesh and presented him before the court on April 23 as per the warrant. Both Choksi and Shetty were remanded to police custody till April 30 by a local court on April 25.
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