Actress Rakul Preet Singh has rejected reports linking her to recent Income Tax Department searches, saying the action was not related to her and accusing some reports of publishing unverified and speculative claims.
Rakul took to social media on Monday to clarify her position and said she wanted to “set the record straight” after reports associated her name with the searches.
“The search was not pertaining to me,” the actress said, while criticising what she described as a growing tendency among some online and mainstream media reporters to sensationalise news without verifying facts.
Rakul said she comes from an Armed Forces background and had entered the film industry without a “Godfather”. She added that she had worked her way up and had been paying her taxes since the age of 20.
Addressing specific allegations, Rakul said she was not involved in any illegal foreign remittances, either in her personal capacity or on behalf of a production house. She also denied holding any benami property in India or abroad and said she had neither received nor accepted expensive property gifts.
The actress urged publications that carried what she called false, malicious and speculative reports to retract them and issue clarifications, saying commercial pressures in the media industry should not come at the expense of facts or an individual’s reputation and livelihood.
Some online reports had claimed that the Mumbai Income Tax Department conducted searches at 12 locations reportedly connected with Rakul, her father-in-law and film producer Vashu Bhagnani, and Panorama Studios.
Those reports said the searches were part of an investigation into suspected financial irregularities, including allegations of funds being routed overseas under the guise of financing film projects. Rakul, however, has denied any connection with the search action.
