Rakul Preet Singh has publicly pushed back against reports linking her to recent Income Tax Department searches in Mumbai, saying the action “was not pertaining to me” and describing some of the coverage around her as false, malicious and speculative.
The actor issued the clarification on October 5, a week after tax officials carried out searches at multiple Mumbai locations reportedly connected with film producers Vashu Bhagnani, Kumar Mangat Pathak-led Panorama Studios and other addresses associated with the investigation. Early reports had also described some of the locations as linked to Rakul, who is married to Vashu Bhagnani’s son, actor-producer Jackky Bhagnani.
Rakul’s response, however, draws an important distinction between a property or address being searched and the underlying investigation actually concerning her financial affairs.
Rakul says the search was not about her
Addressing the media coverage in a statement shared on social media, Rakul criticised what she described as a tendency to sensationalise stories before verifying the facts.
She then made her position explicit: “The search was not pertaining to me.”
Rakul also said she has been paying taxes since she was 20 and denied involvement in any illegal overseas transfers, either personally or on behalf of a production company. She separately rejected suggestions that she holds benami property for anyone in India or abroad.
Her statement also addressed another claim that had entered the reporting around the searches — expensive property or gifts.
Rakul said no one had ever gifted her property and added that she does not accept such expensive gifts as a matter of principle. She asked publications that carried what she called inaccurate reports to retract or correct them, arguing that commercial pressure should not come at the expense of someone’s reputation or livelihood.
What were the Income Tax searches reportedly investigating?
The search operation began on September 28, 2026, with reports saying Income Tax teams were examining 12 locations in Mumbai. Contemporary coverage identified premises linked to Vashu Bhagnani and Panorama Studios among those searched.
The reported focus was suspected financial irregularities connected with film financing, including possible overseas transfers. Officials were said to be examining documents, financial records and transactions as part of the operation.
That does not mean wrongdoing has been established against the people or companies whose premises were searched. As of the initial reporting, the Income Tax Department had not publicly detailed any findings or announced that tax violations had been proven.
That context is particularly important in Rakul’s case. Some early headlines grouped her name together with the producers and companies connected to the searches, while her new statement says the investigation itself did not concern her.
Why Rakul’s clarification changes the framing
Rakul is not disputing that Income Tax officials conducted searches at locations that reports associated with her. Instead, she is challenging the conclusion drawn from that association — that she was herself under investigation for alleged foreign remittances, benami assets or related financial wrongdoing.
That distinction can easily disappear in headline-driven coverage of searches and raids. A location being connected with a person does not by itself establish that the authorities are investigating that individual, much less that any offence has been proven.
Her statement therefore narrows what can responsibly be said about the episode. The confirmed position is that Income Tax searches took place as part of a wider investigation into suspected film-industry financial irregularities; Rakul says the search was not related to her and categorically denies the financial allegations attached to her name.
Unless tax authorities subsequently release findings that specifically involve Rakul, her own clarification remains an important part of how the story should now be presented.
