Two people from Nigeria and one individual from Ghana were arrested from Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly being involved in cyber fraud and the possession of a fake passport made in leading Indian actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's name, a senior police officer told media persons on Friday, December 16. An FIR for fraud has already been filed based on a retired Army colonel’s complaint after he was duped of Rs. 1.81 crores. The police have launched a probe and all three accused, Eke Uferemvukwe and Okoloi Damion from Nigeria, and Adwin Collines from Ghana, have been taken into custody. During the investigation, the police also discovered fake Indian currency notes estimated to be worth more than Rs. 10.76 crores, including several bundles of counterfeit US dollar and British pound bills. 

Authorities came across the fake Aishwarya Rai passport during the examination of three foreigners' laptops and computers. Likewise, fake visas and passport copies were also recovered during the investigation. The police issued a statement and said that the fake passport had Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s photo. According to reports, the accused cyber criminals along with a few other associates have indulged in several fraudulent activities by cheating people on matrimonial sites, dating apps, social media sites, lottery fraud, etc. The police in their statement revealed that the group had earlier swindled a retired Army colonel by persuading him to buy herbs for cancer treatment. During their investigation, officials also seized six mobile phones, 11 SIM cards, laptops, printers, and a few other electronic gadgets. 

Meanwhile, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, on the work front, was last seen in Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: 1 produced by Lyca Productions in association with Madras Talkies, with the epic historical action drama film turning out to be a spectacular success grossing more than 500 crores in box office collections. The film also featured the likes of 'Chiyaan' Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, and Trisha as the core cast along with music by Academy Award-winning composer A. R. Rahman, and ended on a cliffhanger note teasing the sequel, Ponniyin Selvan: 2. Aishwarya Rai will be reprising her roles once again as Nandini and Mandakini Devi in the second installment, which is currently in the post-production stages and is planned for a summer 2023 release.