CHANDIGARH: Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan might face the heat of the law, with Haryana Lokayukta directing Commissioner of Police Gurugram and Armed Licensing Authority, Gurugram to probe into the procedural lapses into the issuance of an arms license to her.
The Lokayukta has asked the officials to submit their report in a complaint pertaining to issuance of arms licence to the actor in 1996 when she allegedly was underage and not entitled to hold arms licence as per provisions of Indian Arms Act. The reply has to be submitted by July 24.
Talking with the New Indian Express, director general of police of Haryana BS Sandhu said, “We are yet to receive the orders from the Haryana Lokayukta Justice N K Aggarwal (retd), once we get the orders we will seek a legal opinion on the case and then in the probe if she is found guilty we will take action as per law.”
The directive comes after Lokayukta registrar Manjit Singh submitted a report following a complaint by Naresh Kumar Kadian, an animal activist.
“It is proved that Soha Ali Khan obtained the arms license by concealing the material fact of her age from the competent authority," the report stated.
Singh stated that prima facie, Soha committed an offence of cheating (section 420
of IPC). Besides that she could be in trouble in other sections of Indian Penal Code and Arms Act if the investigation indicts her.
In November, 1996 Soha had got her arms license (No.A1/DM/G/Nov/1996) issued by district magistrate in Gurgaon in the name of Soha Sultan.
In March last year, Kadian in his complaint had alleged she had obtained the arms license in 1996 when she was still underage and had not revealed the true fact to the officials. The licence was granted for .20 bore gun, NPB rifle, revolver/pistol and .22 bore rifle, which were later found to be used in the killing of a female black buck. A case in that regard was registered against her father Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and five others in Jhajjar in June 2005, the accused were later convicted by a special environment court in Faridabad.
Khan is the younger sister of Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and daughter of former Indian cricket team captain and erstwhile royal Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and yesteryear actress Sharmila Tagore.