Ash lawyer trashes cash connection

Just days after reports that Enforcement Directorate was probing actress Aishwarya Rai's over the mysterious parcel containing Rs 50 lakh that she received via "hawala channels", the actress's lawyer has denied all such rumours.

Girish Kulkarni on Monday alleged that her client was being maligned. "My client absolutely denies receiving any money through illegal channels. This allegation is totally baseless and is being done to malign my client for political reasons," Kulkarni said.

Kulkarni also denied Aishwarya being contacted by ED officials. "Which person in his logical mind will pay such a huge amount of money for an event in which she did not even perform? This allegation is being made by vested interests to malign my client," Kulkarni said, adding, "The media should also look at a story objectively and try to ascertain the facts. This story is not true."

The said parcel - mailed from Rotterdam in Netherlands - reached Aishwarya's residence in November. Electronic items in the packet were declared to Customs, but a small packet filled with currency notes carefully tucked between other items was not.

The parcel carrying the actor's name arrived at the Foreign Post Office in Mumbai around September end. Besides the currency, it also contained a top-brand shirt, a pair of binoculars, a DVD player and other electronic items.

Custom officials after questioning Aishwarya and her father Krishna Raj Rai gave the actor a clean chit.