Mallika Sherawat was attacked with tear gas, beaten and robbed by three masked intruders outside her Paris apartment block, a report here said. A criminal investigation has been launched.

The police revealed on Thursday about the incident, which happened on the night of November 11 - just a month after reality TV star Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint here, reports dailymail.co.uk.

The 40-year-old and a male partner - French businessman Cyrille Auxenfans - were attacked with tear gas and punched. The alleged assault took place when the two arrived at her residential building in the 16th arrondissement of the French capital.

According to Le Parisien newspaper, the criminals wore scarves across their faces and "without saying a word, sprayed their victims with tear gas before punching them".

They then fled, leaving a shocked Mallika and her friend to call the emergency services.

A criminal investigation has been launched, with detectives working on the assumption that this was an attempted robbery.

If one goes by Mallika's official Twitter page, just a day after the incident, she was in Geneva, which she described as "one of my favourite places".