Kannada actress Maria Susairaj held for 'duping' Hajj pilgrims

Kannada actress Maria Susairaj, who served jail term in Mumbai's high-profile Neeraj Grover murder case, was on Thursday arrested by city police for allegedly duping Hajj pilgrims to the tune of Rs 2.68 crore in Vadodara.

Maria had earlier filed for anticipatory bail with Gujarat High Court, but her plea was rejected on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old actress was arrested from her residence at Mysuru, Karnataka and process has been initiated to hand her over to Vadodara Police, according to an Ahmedabad Crime Branch press release.

Maria, along with her business partner Paromita Chakravarti, a resident of Mumbai who is absconding, opened an air ticket booking agency under the banner of Parapan Group in Vadodara a few months ago, it said.

The duo booked tickets on behalf of local Hajj pilgrims.

However, they allegedly pocketed refunds worth Rs 2.68 crore after cancelling these tickets. They kept pilgrims in dark about ticket cancellations, according to the complaint filed against them.

Based on the complaint, a case of cheating was registered against them and police launched a search for the actress and Chakravarti.

Maria was arrested in 2008 by Mumbai Police for her involvement in the murder of Grover, a TV producer. She was sentenced to three years in prison by a court, which found her guilty of destroying evidence in the case. Grover was killed at Maria's Mumbai flat.

She walked out of jail in July 2011 after serving her sentence.