Customs sleuths give clean chit to Aishwarya

Nov 20, 2006, 16:35 GMT

Mumbai, Nov 20 (IANS) Bollywood glamour girl Aishwarya Rai was Monday questioned and given a clean chit by sleuths of the customs department in connection with the recovery of euros 23,000 (Rs.3.7 million) from a mystery parcel sent to her from The Netherlands last week.

Accompanied by her lawyer Girish Kulkarni, Hindi film industry's highest paid actress was quizzed for nearly two hours at the Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport.

Giving Aishwarya a clean chit, the officials said the matter has been sorted out but did not elaborate.

'The actor was questioned for nearly two hours and as far as the actor was concerned it has been clarified. We will, however, continue with our investigation on the consignee,' said A.K. Prasad, Commissioner Customs (Western Zone).

He, however, did not rule out the possibility of Aishwarya knowing the sender.

'A complete picture will only emerge after the completion of the investigations,' Prasad told reporters.

The former Miss World denied any involvement in the case and flew back to Jaipur where she is currently shooting for Ashutosh Gowarikar's film 'Akbar Jodha'.

Customs officials said the package from the Netherlands, which also contained electronic items and branded shirts, did not arouse much interest initially, but it was the Aishwarya's name and address (of her Bandra residence in northwest suburban Mumbai) on the parcel that made them have a second look. It was only then that they stumbled upon the foreign currency.

'The manner in which the money was hidden in a packet between electronic goods like DVD player and mobile phones among other things was disturbing,' Prasad said.

Aishwarya's father Krishna Rai, had met the customs officials at Ballard Pier customs headquarters in south Mumbai Nov 15 to clarify her position as she was in Jaipur.

© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service