Income tax officials target Bollywood stars

The homes and offices of two Bollywood actresses have been raided by India's income tax officials in Mumbai, officials said.

Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra were suspected to have "evaded income tax" on earnings from advertisements, foreign assignments and "guest appearances".

The raids began on Monday morning and are expected to continue on Tuesday.

Kaif and Chopra are among the highest-paid actresses in Bollywood.

Some 30 tax inspectors were reported to have begun the raids on Monday which continued till late in the evening.

The office of a leading Bollywood photographer, Atul Kasbekar, was also raided, income tax officials told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Kaif and Chopra's apartments in Mumbai, where both live, were raided.

Reports said the home of Chopra's secretary was also raided.

One report said that income tax officials had sealed a dozen bank lockers belonging to the three, and collected a number of bank statements, property documents and details of their investments.A former Miss World, Chopra, 28, made her debut in Bollywood in 2002 with a film called The Hero.Since then she has acted in nearly 30 films, and won a number of Bollywood awards.Kaif, 26, was a leading model before she made her debut in Bollywood with Boom, a film which failed at the box office.She has since become a sought-after actress and is one of the busiest stars in the industry these days.

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