Rahat Fateh Ali Khan case: Probe extends to five cities

New Delhi: The revenue intelligence probe into Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's singing contracts has been extended to five cities. Revenue authorities are now investigating the shows he did in Rajkot, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Delhi.

Rahat was detained at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on Sunday allegedly with undeclared currency worth US $ 124,000, or over Rs. 60 lakh. He was released 28 hours later on Monday.

Late last night, Rahat was seen at the revenue intelligence office along with his lawyer. Sources have told NDTV that Rahat handed over some contract papers to the officials, who wanted to know how much money he charged for his show in Delhi and how it was converted into dollars. They are also looking into a possible hawala link.

Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik spoke to Home Minister P Chidambaram on the phone on Tuesday and thanked him for Rahat's release. Malik assured Chidambaram that Rahat will fully cooperate in the case.

On his release, the singer was made to surrender his passport and was not allowed to leave the country. His visa has been extended for now.

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 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.

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'.