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Rizvi retracts his statement: PTI

In a letter to the registrar of sessions court, Rizvi, producer of Chori Chori Chupke Chupke , said he was retracting his statement and added that he was under great mental stress during interrogation because of which he had developed blood pressure problems.

The letter was placed before designated judge A P Bhangale, who ordered the ED to file a reply on January 23 in response to Rizvi's claim for retraction of his statement.

The judge also ordered the jailor of Thane prison to get Rizvi medically examined in the jail hospital and take him to a government hospital if needed, for treatment.

The court has also asked the prison authorities to submit a report about Rizvi's health on January 23.

ED prosecutor Arun Gupte told PTI that they still needed to probe Rizvi on his alleged hawala deals and would seek the court's permission to interrogate him on January 24 and 25 if his health permits. Otherwise, the ED may question him after doctors certify that he was fit.

The ED also plans to interrogate film financier Bharat Shah in the case. He will be questioned after Rizvi's interrogation, the prosecutor said.

Rizvi's retraction has not come as a surprise to ED officials, because normally in such cases the accused take recourse to such steps, Gupte said.

Rizvi's retraction will be opposed on January 23, as it was not admissible because the accused wanted to avoid interrogation, Gupte said.

Gupte said the ED had not arrested Rizvi in the hawala case because under the Foreign Exchange Management Act it was not necessary to arrest an accused. He can be questioned and documents could be seized from him.

However, Gupte clarified, Rizvi could be arrested for offences committed prior to the enactment of FEMA, in June last year. Section 49 of FEMA clearly laid down that provisions of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act would apply for two years as if FERA had not lapsed.

This is a saving clause in the new act and Rizvi could be arrested if interrogation reveal that he had committed an offence prior to enactment of FEMA, the prosecutor said.

Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian said involvement of producer Rizvi and financier Shah in films financed by the underworld could be just the tip of the iceberg. This case may open a Pandora's box for the Bombay police, which is trying to unravel the Bollywood-underworld nexus, she said.

Rizvi and assistant Abdul Rahim Allah Baksh have been arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act for links with Karachi-based gangster Chhota Shakeel.

The police claim to have recorded telephonic conversations between them and Shakeel, which reveal that underworld dons wanted to establish their rule in Bollywood to target film personalities for personal gains.

The Complete Coverage: The Bharat Shah Case

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