New Delhi: The visa of Pakistani sufi singer
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has expired and the government was going
to extend it till the investigation into the alleged recovery
of 1.24 lakh US dollars from him and other members of his
troupe at the IGI airport here was complete.
"His visa has expired. His visa will be extended and we
hope that post February 17, there could be adjudication
proceeding and we hope that the matter would be resolved,"
Union Home Secretary GK Pillai told reporters on the
sidelines of a book release function on Tuesday.
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was, meanwhile,
probing the source of foreign exchange worth Rs 60 lakh
recovered from Rahat and two others -- Maroof (manager of the
singer) and Chitresh Shrivastava (owner of an event management
company). They were released last night after remaining in
detention for nearly 24 hours.
The singer has been asked to appear before DRI on
February 17.
Rahat (37) along with Maaroof and Shrivastava were
detained on Sunday from Indira Gandhi International Airport
while they were on their way to Lahore via Dubai after the
alleged undeclared money was recovered from them.
The officials subjected the singer to the questioning
while searches were conducted simultaneously on the premises
of "Eyeline Telefilm and Events" in Mumbai, owned by Chitresh,
elder brother of Bollywood singer Aadesh Shrivastava.
Chitresh will have to explain Rs 51 lakh unaccounted cash
also that was recovered from his office in Mumbai yesterday.
As per norms, no one can carry beyond USD 5,000 in cash
and USD 5,000 in other instruments. The person has to declare
the amount if he is carrying more than this to the Customs
Department.
Rahat and his entire troupe, numbering around 16, were
detained by the authorities while they were on their way to
Lahore from Dubai by an Emirates flight.
Nephew of noted Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,
Rahat is rated as one of the top playback singers of Bollywood
and has several hit numbers to his credit. He won the Filmfare
Award for Best Male Playback Singer this year for `Dil To
Bachcha Hai Ji` from the movie `Ishqiya`.
PTI
