New Delhi:
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik spoke to Home Minister P Chidambaram on the phone today thanking him for his assistance and cooperation in regard to the case involving Bollywood singer from Pakistan Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Malik assured Chidambaram that Rahat will cooperate fully in the case.
Rahat was released on Monday, 28 hours after he was detained at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport allegedly with undeclared currency worth US $ 124,000, or over Rs. 60 lakh.
The singer was made to surrender his passport and is not allowed to leave the country.
Rahat and two others - Maroof and Chitresh Shrivastava - have been asked to appear before the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on February 17 again.
During his interrogation, Rahat told the DRI officials that he is a school dropout and hence not familiar with the laws.
As per norms, a foreign national cannot carry beyond US $5,000 in cash and US $5,000 in other instruments. The person has to declare the amount if he is carrying more than this to the Customs Department.
Chitresh Shrivastava, elder brother of Bollywood singer Aadesh Shrivastava, was also questioned by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in Delhi.
DRI officials conducted raids at the premises of "Eyeline Telefilm and Events", owned by Chitresh and found Rs. 51 lakh in cash which was seized along with some documents.
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. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer this year for 'Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji' from the movie 'Ishqiya'.