Customs gives clean chit to Aishwarya 'as of now'

MUMBAI: Customs authorities gave a clean chit to Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai “as of now” after questioning her for over two and half hours during which she disowned a packet in her name containing Euro 23,000 (around Rs 13 lakhs).

The sender of the parcel has been identified as one Avineshwar who is a Dutch national of Indian origin, commissioner of customs (import) AK Prasad told reporters.

“He is a Dutch citizen in his thirties and we are in the process of getting more information about him,” he added.

Prasad said the help of Indian embassy in the Netherlands and the ministry of external affairs will be sought for the probe.

During her over two-and-half hour questioning at the Customs Office at Mumbai International Airport where she appeared after taking a break from a film shoot in Jaipur, Rai denied she knew its sender either personally or professionally.

Aishwarya had to reply in writing a total of 60 questions during the interrogation, Prasad said adding that the actress was “very tense” and had to be calmed after which she was very cooperative.