A 28-year-old television actress was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a stock trader and extorting ₹ 5.5 lakh from him. According to police reports, she claimed the money was needed to fund a short film. The incident has raised eyebrows in the entertainment community as details continue to emerge.
Upon verifying the complainant’s bank records , it was confirmed that money had been transferred to Venkat’s bank account. Actress Varshini Venkat, along with her friends, invited Tharun to invest money in a short film they were producing, but he refused. Based on a complaint lodged by Tharun, Guindy police registered a case and initiated an investigation. Search is on for the actress’ friends involved in the crime.
On August 22, when Tharun returned to his lodge in the early hours after going out, Venkat along with her friend Sanjay and two others, who were present, assaulted him and forced Tharun to hand over ₹ 50,000 in cash. Later, upon receiving extortion calls from Sanjay, Tharun transferred ₹ 3 lakh to Venkat’s bank account and ₹ 2 lakh to Sanjay’s bank account. After paying a total of ₹ 5.5 lakh, Sanjay continued to threaten him, demanding an additional ₹ 27 lakh. The police arrested the accused, Varshini Venkat (28), residing in Mylapore, on Tuesday and seized an iPhone.
After inquiry, the actress was produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
