Diamonds not mine, claims Minissha Lamba

Mumbai: Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba who was detained at the airport on Wednesday for not declaring jewellery estimated to be worth Rs 35-50 lakhs, has claimed that the ornaments were for promotional purpose and do not belong to her.

The 26-year-old, who was let off past midnight after being grilled for over 16 hours on her arrival from Cannes, was questioned again on Thursday, during which she admitted that she was not aware of the procedure of declaring the jewellery which she claimed had been carried from India for her stint at the international film festival.

"We are recording her statement at the customs office at Marol in Andheri again," Additional Commissioner Mahender Pal told PTI.

"The actress has claimed she does not own the jewellery found in her possession. During her questioning, we have been told that the ornaments belong to a jewellery brand and were given to her purely for promotional purpose," a top customs official said.

The actress said that the valuables were taken to Cannes, where she walked the red carpet at the prestigious film festival, from India and brought back, the official said.

Lamba has pleaded that she was not aware that she has to make a declaration before taking the high-value jewellery out of the country and bringing it back.

A senior customs official put the value of the gold and diamond jewellery found on Lamba at around Rs 35-50 lakh.

Appropriate action will be taken against her after verifying her statement, he said.

Lamba, who landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport from Cannes, France, via Dubai by an Emirates flight at 8.30 am on Thursday, was crossing the

green channel when she was intercepted by the Customs.

In the course of checking, she was allegedly found carrying gold bangles, necklace, earrings and other gold and diamond jewellery in her bag.

Lamba, whose debut film 'Yahaan' received critical acclaim, has acted in movies like 'Bachna Ae Haseeno', 'Corporate' and 'Well Done Abba'.

She was in France for the premiere of Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris'.