Rizvi, who's said to be Karachi-based don Chhota Shakeel's associate,has been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Control Act(MCOCA) 1999 after he was charged under Section 302 (read with Section 115),which means conspiracy to kill. The other sections are 387, 120B read with3(1).According to ACP (detection) Shankar Kamble, Rizvi was arrested after thepolice successfully established his close links with Chhota Shakeel. TheKarachi-based don has also been named in the First Information Report (FIR),Kamble added. The arrest is a major setback to Shakeel's efforts to breakinto the film industry. According to sources, the don has bankrolled thefilm to the tune of Rs 22 crore. Rizvi had apparently used Shakeel to pressurise other film personalitiesinto signing his films. The don's clout was also used to secure dates fromactors and actresses and to reschedule release of films produced by otherfilmmakers to prevent a clash at the boxoffice, Kamble said. Rizvi, in a black shirt and jeans, was arrested from his office at SameerApartments near Seven Bungalow at Andheri (west) by a team of officerscomprising Assistant PI Pradeep Sharma and PSI Daya Nayak around 11.45 amtoday. He was trying to escape the dragnet despite the fact that sleuthshad kept a close watch on his activities for the past few days. ``Rizvi was the conduit for underworld gangs operating from Karachi. Infact, he carried out some of the threats himself,'' remarked a Crime Branchofficer. Crime Branch officers told êIThe Indian ExpressêR that some of the actorsand actresses signed the contract to act in the Salman-starrer êiChupkeChupke Chori Choriêr knowing well that the film was financed by Shakeel.They are likely to be questioned soon for their links with the underworld,the officer added. Meanwhile, the police said they had seized all the reels of the film whileit was being processed at a laboratory near Andheri. Rizvi's arrest has casta shadow over the release of the film scheduled later this month. The police said many film stars were in touch with underworld gangs in thecity. Police investigations have revealed that some of the actors andactresses were forced to visit Karachi and Dubai to meet the gangsters.Rizvi's interrogations would throw further light on the links of filmpersonalities with the underworld. WHAT THE FIR SAYS* Rizvi at the behest of Shakeel was planning to kill producer-directorRakesh Roshan and his son Hrithik. Actor Ajay Devgan and his secretary Kumarmangal were being repeatedlythreatened to change the date of release of their film Raju Chacha sothat it did not clash with Chori Chori Chupke Chupk on December 28. * Coercing Venus Music R Jain to sell the company to some frontman at thebehest of Rizvi. * Using Shakeel to threaten film personalities to sign his films.
