Rahat Fateh Ali Khan allowed to go after surrendering passport

Playback singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, whose detention at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi international airport on Sunday stirred a diplomatic row between India and Pakistan, was released late on Monday.

His passport, however, has been impounded and he has been asked to appear before the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Thursday.

Khan, 37, was detained on Monday for carrying $1.24 lakh in cash, which was not declared to the customs authorities. Sources said DRI sleuths on Monday found Rs51 lakh in cash apart from some documents. Indian laws allow up to $5,000 (Rs2.3 lakh) in cash, or $10,000 (Rs4.6 lakh) in traveller’s cheques to be taken abroad.

Khan, along with 20 people, was scheduled to fly to Lahore on an Emirates flight after a series of performances in India.

Maroof and Chitresh Srivastava, who were detained along with Rahat on Monday, were also released. Srivastava, brother of music composer Aadesh Srivastava, runs an event management company, which was managing Khan’s Indian concerts. Maroof was handling his programmes outside India. The DRI searched Srivastava’s company, Eyeline Telefilm and Events, in Mumbai, and recovered cash and documents.   

Islamabad had taken exception to the treatment meted out to Khan, and said the ambassador of peace and love should be treated nicely. Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik spoke to Shahid Malik, Pakistani high commissioner to India, and asked him to monitor the matter closely.