Mumbai: Starlet Kim Sharma, who has been on the fringes of Bollywood for a long time, was recently photographed on a Kenyan safari, posing with a pair of disinterested leopards and a beaming woman friend.
Unfortunately for Kim, the pictures, which were published in a leading daily, could leave her rather red-faced, with a lot of explaining to do, reports Mumbai Mirror.
It turns out, the woman posing with Kim, and captioned as ‘a friend' is Hema Chaudhary, a criminal on record. According to Andheri Police, Chaudhary has been arrested in a murder case, a case of passport forgery and has spent more than a month in jail in some other cases.
Elaborating on the murder case, inspector S Phadtare of Andheri police station, said, “In June 2007, there was a huge altercation between Chaudhary and her neighbour over feeding stray dogs in the building premises. After a heated argument, it was alleged that Chaudhary along with her associates brutally assaulted the victim. The man succumbed to his injuries before doctors could treat him. But during the trial, the court discharged Chaudhary.”
Chaudhary, who stays behind Oshiwara police station, said, “I have been cleared of the murder charges by the court. What if I have other cases against me? I am allowed to travel out of the country.”
Few months ago, Oshiwara police had registered another complaint against Chaudhary on the behest of a bar dancer. The dancer had accused Chaudhary and her associate of threatening her. Police registered a non cognizable offence in the matter. Sources have also revealed that Chaudhary had once done a stint as a passport agent and had several cases of forgery registered against her.
“During this phase, Chaudhary was arrested and later let out on bail,” said a police officer on the condition of anonymity who was deployed at Sahar police station at the time of incident.
While Kim Sharma did not respond to our calls, her publicist was quick to say, “Kim does not know who this woman is. This woman met her at a pub in Kenya and requested Kim to pose with her on the safari.”
