The father of “Slumdog Millionaire” actress Rubina Ali is under investigation by Mumbai police over accusations he tried to sell the star in an illegal adoption, the New York Times reported.
According to news out of India, Police interviewed the 9-year-old’s father, Rafiq Quereshi, after Britain’s News of the World claimed he wanted $293,000 from undercover reporters posing as wealthy Arabs who wished to buy the child.
Rubina’s birth mother, Khursheed, reportedly filed a complaint against her ex with the Nirmal Nagar Police in Mumbai after the report emerged on Sunday. And she issued a statement through News of the World earlier today, thanking the publication for their expose.
“I can’t thank you enough for bringing this matter to light. You have come like angels for me and my daughter and saved her from ending up God knows where,” she said in her statement. “Who knows who Rubina would have been sold to, or what would have happened to my child if you hadn’t exposed Rafiq.”
Khursheed, who left her family, including Rubina, years ago, said she learned her ex was interested in selling the “Slumdog” star from one of her other children.
“I was told by my elder daughter Sana several weeks ago that Rafiq was talking about giving my daughter Rubina up for adoption in return for money,” she said in her statement released by NOTW. “He wanted to sell her for as much money as he could get.”
Quereshi has denied wrongdoing. He claims that the story was a, “lie made up by foreign journalists playing games with me,” he told People.
In a statement released to Access Hollywood, “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle said, “I take full responsibility for having put [the children from the movie] in the media glare in the first place.”
The Jai Ho Trust, which is supported by Boyle and producer Christian Colson, also issued a statement earlier today, nothing they are looking after Rubina.
“The Jai Ho Trust was established with financial support from the filmmakers of Slumdog Millionaire to support the welfare of child stars of the film. The trust is in regular contact with Rubina Ali and her family and has hired a social worker to assist in looking after her welfare and that of her co-star [Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail],” they said in a statement previously released to Entertainment Weekly. “The Trust will support Rubina, her parents and responsible authorities, to ensure that the rights and best interests of Rubina are protected.”
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