Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat was tear-gassed by masked attackers in her apartment in Paris, police sources have confirmed to the AFP. The incident comes one month after reality TV star Kim Kardashian was robbed of £6.9 million worth of jewellery at gunpoint at her hotel in the French capital.
Mallika, 40, and a friend were reportedly returning to her residential building in an affluent part of the city where they were approached by three men at around 9.30pm on November 11.
Investigators said they were surprised that the attackers - who had tried to take the actress' handbag - had actually fled empty-handed.
Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat was attacked in Paris, police have said
"We cannot understand why the attackers fled without taking anything," a source in the investigation told AFP.
According to Le Parisien newspaper, the men covered their faces with scarves before they spayed their victims and punched them. Soon after the attack, Mallika and her companion called the emergency services.
Mallika, whose real name is Reema Lambha, is a big name in Bollywood after coming to prominence in 2004. She is known for her roles in the Indian film Murder and Jackie Chan's The Myth in 2005 as well as television series Hawaii Five-O.
The star is a big name in Bollywood after coming to prominence in 2004
A few years ago, whilst promoting her movie Bachelorette India, the actress called India "regressive" compared to countries such as the USA.
"I made a conscious decision to divide my time between Los Angeles, America and India," she said. "So now when I've experienced that social freedom, when I go back to India, which is so regressive for women, it's depressing. As an independent women, it's really depressing."