Parisian police are once again on the hunt for a gang of thieves who tear gassed and beat a Bollywood star who was staying at a city apartment in the same district where Kim Kardashian West was also robbed.
Mallika Sherawat, 40, and her French boyfriend, Cyrille Auxenfanswere were attacked after arriving home at her residential building in the upmarket 16th arrondissement in Paris last Friday.
Mallika Sherawat at Cannes.
According to local reports, the intruders wore masks and scarves to hide their faces and ‘without saying a word, sprayed their victims with tear gas before punching them.’
CNN reports a friend of Sherawat told them:
“One of them tried to grab her bag, but she pushed them away and started yelling and screaming. After a bit of a struggle they ran away.”
The encounter lasted just minutes and the criminals fled the scene without stealing anything, leaving their victims in shock.
The crime comes just a month after Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in a neighbouring building.
Police say the pair suffered minor injuries in the attack.
A criminal investigation has now been launched with detectives looking into it as a failed robbery.
Sherawat, whose real name is Reema Lamba, is well-known in her native India and has starred in more than 20 Bollywood productions.
On Saturday the actress took to social media to tell fans she had gone to Geneva for the weekend, but did not address the incident directly.
Sherawat posted another video on Monday. In it, she said: “I am so grateful for my life. I thank you all for all your love and I thank God every day.”
The attempted robbery happened about 4.3 km from the luxury apartment in the 8th arrondissement where Kardashian West was held at gunpoint on October 3 and an estimated $10 million worth of jewels was taken.
It is not known if the crimes are linked but the people attacked Kardashian West are also alleged to have all been men who wore masks and carried weapons.
