By Quaid Najmi

Mumbai, Jun 23 (IANS): A pall of gloom had descended on the family of actress Chrisann Pereira after the Sharjah Central Jail declined to release her passport and is not contemplating 'deporting' her to India, her mother said here on Friday.

Nearly two weeks ago, the Sharjah Court had not only cleared Chrisann of all the charges in the fake drugs-framing case but also directed that her passport be handed over and she be permitted to return home.

"Since then, we have been eagerly awaiting her return. Yesterday, when she went to the Sharjah Central Jail, they said that it might take another one or two months to release her passport," a distraught Premila Pereira told IANS.

She claimed that the jail officials have even indicated that Chrisann may be 'deported' to India - something that has shocked the family - especially since the trauma of the past few months is now taking a toll on her mental and physical health.

"The Court orders were very clear. Then why are the jail authorities not honouring the Court verdict? Why should they withhold her passport and now talk of 'deportation' when her record has been cleared both in Sharjah and even in Mumbai," Premila demanded.

She is deeply worried that the scars of the past nearly three months in a foreign land without resources has started affecting Chrisann's health.

"We have already sent her psychiatric medicines... She is alone and unable to bear all these 'tortures' any more. If anything happens to her, will the Sharjah government take responsibility for it...?" Premila demanded.

The family also rued that neither the Indian Embassy nor the Ministry of External Affairs is ready to help out in the matter despite repeated pleas.

Concerned about mounting expenses and bills, Premila is now preparing to go to UAE for the third time in three months to take care of her daughter's health issues and try to appeal to the Sharjah authorities for help.

The Pereiras said it's "shocking" that the Sharjah jail is not honouring directives of the Sharjah Court and the police investigators who had probed the sensitive matter very thoroughly and professionally.

On April 1, Chrisann got unwittingly trapped in a fake drugs case and was arrested by the Sharjah (UAE) Police after which she spent around 25 days in the prison there.

As her family moved heaven and earth with the Mumbai Police for assistance, she secured bail on April 26 and the investigations finally helped her emerge untainted, said Premila.

Chrisann was all prepared to get back her passport, and hoped to fly back to India last week putting the long ordeal behind her. (IANS report - June 14).

Now, again Chrisann is stuck in a rut - the family terms it as 'travesty of justice' by the Sharjah jail authorities - they are unsure when she will return home and the nightmare will end.