A day after a packet containing 23,000 euros (about Rs 13.5 lakh) addressed to Aishwarya Rai was discovered by the customs department at the Foreign Post Office in South Mumbai, the actress expressed surprise at the news. She said she would sort out the issue with the authorities.
"This is as much news to my family and me as it is to you and the rest of the world. We know nothing," Rai, shooting for Ashutosh Gowariker's film Akbar-Jodha in Jaipur, told the television channel NDTV.
"My lawyers and my father will work out the issue with the government officials," she added. "The law of the land will take its course. They will check this, and frankly, I would like to know what it is all about. In matters like this, you (the media) need to exercise a little more responsibility and wait to get facts."
A packet from a man in the Netherlands addressed to Rai, which contained electronic items and undeclared foreign currency, reached the Foreign Post Office a month ago, Customs Commissioner (Imports) A K Prasad had said on Tuesday.
The customs department had 'started a preliminary inquiry,' Prasad added.
Rai's lawyer Girish Kulkarni told PTI in Mumbai, "So far, we have not received any summons or any official communication from the custom authorities. If anything comes to us, we will cooperate with the authorities. "There are a lot of rumours about her coming to Mumbai for questioning, but right now there are no plans of her coming to Mumbai. She is shooting in Jaipur," he said.
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