India probes dispute over ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ child star Rubina Ali

Indian police are investigating claims and counterclaims by the parents of a child star in “Slumdog Millionaire” after a British tabloid alleged the father tried to sell the 9-year-old girl to an undercover reporter.
The accusations further complicated the lives of the families of the slum-dwelling child stars, who have come under intense scrutiny since the movie skyrocketed to Oscar-winning fame and grossed more than $300 million worldwide.
Khurshid Begum, the estranged mother of “Slumdog Millionaire” star Rubina Ali, filed a complaint with Mumbai police on Sunday after News of the World reported that the father planned to put her up for adoption. The British newspaper said the deal was allegedly offered to one of its reporters posing as a sheik from the Mideast.
The newspaper — owned by News International Ltd., the main British subsidiary of News Corp., which also owns “Slumdog” distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures — said the father was demanding millions of rupees, worth the equivalent of $400,000.
“They should be punished,” Begum said after getting into a physical confrontation with Rubina’s stepmother. “No father should dare sell his daughter.”

- from Yahoo News