Rahat Fateh Ali Khan arrested over undisclosed foreign currency
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New Delhi: Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was on Monday arrested by India's Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), a day after he was detained at the international airport here on charges of carrying undisclosed foreign currency, an official said.
"He has been arrested and will be produced in court," an official of DRI said.
Rahat (37), one of Bollywood's top playback singers was extensively questioned by revenue intelligence officials regarding the over one lakh USD recovered from his possession. He and and two of his troupe members were caught allegedly carrying 1.24 lakh USD (about Rs 60 lakh) in undeclared foreign currency.
Sources said Rahat was then taken to the DRI office in the capital and questioned at length.
A nephew of Pakistani singing legend Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rahat is a top Bollywood playback singer and has several hit numbers to his credit.
"The DRI officers found altogether 1,24,000 USD which is equivalent to about Rs 60 lakhs. 24,000 USD were found from the baggage carried by Rahat while the remaining 50,000 USD each were found from the baggage of two troupe members," Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairman S Dutt Majumdar had said.
Khan was intercepted by DRI personnel around 4 p.m. acting on some prior information, the sources said. As per norms, a foreign national cannot carry beyond USD 5,000 in cash and 5,000 USD in other instruments. The person has to declare the amount if he is carrying more than this to the Customs Department.
According to sources, the payments by an event manager to Rahat were made in Indian currency and US dollars and these people were allegedly found converting the dollars to Indian rupees 'through unauthorised channels'.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has initiated hectic efforts to secure Rahat's release. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir called Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Sharat Sabarwal and discussed the matter around midnight on Sunday. He requested the Indian envoy to ensure that 'no official should misbehave with Rahat during interrogation'.
"Regular updates should be given to authorities in Pakistan regarding efforts to resolve the case," he stressed.
Rahat's brother-in-law, Asim Raza, told Pak's Dunya TV that they 'received information from the media and were feeling concerned about it'.
"We are yet to establish any proper contact with the authorities in India although Rahat talked briefly with his wife and asked her to remain hopeful of a positive outcome".
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