Bollywood actress Rakul Preet Singh breaks silence on IT raid reports

Dubai: Bollywood actress Rakul Preet Singh has broken her silence on reports linking her to recent searches by the Income Tax Department, saying the action was unrelated to her.

Taking to social media on Monday, the Yaariyan actress criticised reports that she said had sensationalised the matter without verifying the facts. “The search was not about me,” Rakul said in a statement, urging media outlets to correct what she described as false and speculative reports.

Rakul said she comes from an Armed Forces background and entered the film industry without a godfather. She added that she has worked her way up through hard work and has been paying her taxes since the age of 20.

The actress also strongly denied any involvement in alleged illegal foreign remittances, either personally or on behalf of a production house. She further said she did not own any “Benami” property in India or abroad and had never accepted expensive properties as gifts.

“I urge all those who published these false, malicious and speculative reports to retract them and clarify the facts,” Rakul said, while acknowledging the commercial pressures faced by media organisations.

She stressed that such pressures should not come at the expense of factual reporting or an individual’s reputation and livelihood.

The Income Tax Department recently conducted searches at multiple locations in Mumbai as part of an investigation into suspected financial irregularities. Reports said the searches involved locations allegedly linked to filmmaker Vashu Bhagnani, Rakul’s father-in-law, and Panorama Studios.

The Mumbai Income Tax Department reportedly searched 12 locations as part of the investigation, with officials examining suspected financial transactions and alleged irregularities.

Rakul’s statement comes amid growing media attention to the searches, with the actress seeking to clearly distance herself from the investigation and asking publications that named her in connection with the action to correct their reports.