MUMBAI, July 18: Indian police on Monday questioned former Miss World Aishwarya Rai over allegations that Bollywood actor Salman Khan had threatened her with underworld retribution unless she performed at a mafia don’s stage show. Ms Rai was grilled at her Mumbai residence and a sample of her voice taken to compare it to the voice on an audio recording allegedly of her phone conversation with Salman Khan, her lawyer said.

The police investigation followed the release of the tape by domestic media, in which a man alleged to be Salman Khan is heard screaming abuses at Ms Rai because of her reluctance to participate in stage shows sponsored by underworld boss Abu Salem.

“They (the police) questioned her for over two hours and she is fully cooperating with the police,” said Girish Kulkarni, Ms Rai’s lawyer.

The police questioned Salman Khan for nearly four hours on Sunday and took a sample of his voice.

Both Khan and Rai have denied that the voice on the tape is theirs.

In an interview with the Times of India newspaper on Saturday, Salman Khan said the tapes, allegedly recorded in 2001, were fake and claimed that gangsters who back Bollywood films had threatened him in the recent past.—AFP