Setback to Rakul Preet Singh; IT raids 12 spots over tax evasion

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Rakul Preet Singh, filmmaker Vashu Bhagnani and Panorama Studios have come under the Income Tax Department’s scanner, with simultaneous searches carried out at 12 locations in Mumbai over suspected financial irregularities involving film-related transactions.

Multiple teams of the Mumbai Income Tax Department conducted the searches on Monday, examining premises linked to Rakul, Bhagnani and Panorama Studios. Investigators are scrutinising financial records and documents amid allegations that funds may have been routed overseas under the guise of financing film projects. The exact nature and scale of the suspected irregularities have not yet been officially disclosed.

The operation has reportedly focused on transactions connected with film production and foreign remittances. Officials are examining financial records and details of overseas transfers to determine whether the transactions complied with tax and other financial regulations. No final findings have been announced so far.

The searches have also brought renewed attention to the wider financial network surrounding the individuals and production companies under scrutiny. Panorama Studios, headed by filmmaker Kumar Mangat Pathak, is among the entities whose premises were searched, alongside locations associated with Bhagnani.

The development comes months after Rakul’s brother Aman Preet Singh was named by Hyderabad Police in a separate narcotics investigation following the seizure of cocaine and MDMA in December 2025. Police identified him as a suspected drug consumer in that case, though the matter is separate from the current Income Tax investigation.

The Income Tax searches are continuing, with officials yet to announce whether the examination of the records will lead to further action.