Actress was detained for flying with undeclared valuables worth Rs 25 lakh, for which she could not furnish any documents

After the recent spate of detentions made by the Customs department, Mumbai's regular flyers have been scrupulously declaring their assets prior to flights.

The city's high-flyers, however, seem hell-bent on continuing in their callous ways, regularly failing to declare their paraphernalia of glamour on their way back into the country from lands far and wide.

The most recent addition into this league was none other than actress Anushka Sharma, who was detained by the Customs department yesterday.

Sharma returned to the city on board an Air India flight that was operated specially to ferry participants from the recently concluded IIFA awards at Toronto.

Hard times

The detention came right after every celeb's nightmare came alive for Anushka at the IIFA function, with Lisa Ray mistakenly referring to her as Anushka Shankar.

She was intercepted by a team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Sameer Wankhede, around 2 am last night, while crossing the green channel of the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Sahar.

She was detained for allegedly carrying undeclared diamond and gold jewellery worth Rs 25 lakh. Her collection of undeclared valuables included a necklace, a pendant and rings and two costly branded watches, estimated to be worth Rs 6 and 4 lakh, respectively.

According to officials, the charges levelled against Sharma are of a more severe nature than those levelled against the other recent inductees in this ill-famed league of Customs defaulters. "To begin with, she did not declare the items.

Secondly, she does not have any documents related to their purchase. This may mean that the valuables do not belong to her. We have lodged a case against her under different sections of the Customs Act.

She will have to attend the court proceedings for the same, " said a senior Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) official of Mumbai Customs.

Income Tax grilling

The Customs officials further revealed that Anushka would be interrogated by the IT department, as her failure to furnish documents for the valuables reeks of tax evasion.

"We will hear the clarifications of the individuals named by Sharma. We will also intimate the IT department, which will investigate the tax evasion angle, " added the AIU official.

Blame game

Unlike the slew of celebrities in the past who have feigned ignorance regarding existing Customs regulations, Anushka conceded that she had full knowledge of the same. However, she tried to shift the blame on to her secretary, claiming that she had failed to perform the necessary Customs related formalities.

"She passed the buck on to a Miss Dutta, who is possibly her secretary. She claimed that Dutta had been asked to take care of the formalities, but obviously failed to, " added another senior official of AIU.

Let off the hook?

Customs officials announced that Sharma would be released on the very day of her arrest, at midnight, as is the custom with VVIPs.

An official said yesterday, "As is the case with most high profile detainees, she too will be set free, despite the fact that we have a strong case against her. She will be released at midnight, with a pending enquiry."

Talking to MiD DAY, the Airport Customs Commissioner P M Govande confirmed that Sharma would not be detained beyond midnight.

"The detainee insists that she was carrying the valuables when she left for the foreign trip. We will accept her statement and release her once the proceedings are complete.

However, enquiry will go on, and we will investigate the matter further."

Descending Fortunes

Other high-flyers who fell flat on their face at the green channel

June 2011: Steve Kean, manager of the well-known British football league Blackburn Rovers, was intercepted by the Mumbai Customs department, while crossing the green channel with undeclared gold jewellery worth Rs 3-4 lakh.

June 2011:Vikram Lamba, actress Mallika Sherawat's brother, was detained by the Mumbai customs department, for carrying nearly Rs 10 lakh in British pounds, and high-end goods worth Rs 5 lakh, both undeclared, from Dubai.

May 2011: Minissha Lamba, who was returning from Cannes on an Emirates plane, was intercepted by the customs officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport for carrying undeclared diamond jewellery worth more than Rs 40 lakh.

She was interrogated for almost 11 hours before being released in the early hours the next day.

May 2011: Sangeeta, wife of Sajjan Jindal, was fined a sum of over Rs 10 lakh, for carrying undeclared diamond jewellery and other imported valuables worth Rs 60 lakh.

April 2011: Goa's Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate was detained at the Mumbai airport, for allegedly carrying foreign currency beyond the permissible limit.

June 2009: Sheetal Mafatlal was arrested for carrying undeclared jewellery, the total value of which she did not disclose to the customs.

The Other Side

Anushka is not being interrogated by Customs. She was carrying various accesories that were given by various brands to her. Anushka is at the Customs only to sign the paperwork for the borrowed accessories.
Anushka's spokesperson