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Producer confesses to underworld links

The negatives of the film were seized by the police on Thursday night, putting a question mark on its release.

Sivanandan, in an informal chat with reporters, claimed Rizvi, who was remanded to police custody till December 27 by a special court on Thursday, has admitted to using Shakeel's influence to see his movie through and being in touch with him during the making of the film.

Bharat Shah, financier of the movie, had also been questioned by police in connection with the case, he said.

"We have handed over a questionnaire to Shah and expect him to come up with the answers soon," he said.

The Bombay police would be summoning the star cast and crew connected with the film, he said adding that two more film celebrities were expected to be questioned in this connection on Saturday. The cast of the controversial film includes Salman Khan and Rani Mukherjee.

"However, we do not expect any more arrests in the matter," he said.

Sivanandan denied reports about the alleged links of the underworld with Union and state ministers as mentioned in a section of the press.

Earlier, speaking at a press conference announcing the launch of the crime prevention week, Police Commissioner M N Singh issued a strong warning against all those in the film industry maintaining links with the underworld.

"The mafia has entered all streams of society, including the film industry," Singh said adding that the enactment of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act was the first step in trying to control the spread of the mafia menace.

"We have had three major convictions under this act," he said. "The Bombay police had also upgraded its technical capability. The recent arrest of a person from the film industry was the result of such upgradation," he said making an indirect reference to the seizure of taped conversation between Rizvi and the underworld don.

"Intelligence gathering activity is an important tool in combating gang activity and we are concentrating on this aspect. Several people would be questioned in this regard," he said.

"We are trying to gauge the ramifications of the underworld nexus with the film industry," he said.

He warned that the police would come down heavily on those connected with the underworld and were making serious efforts to bring the mafia menace under control.

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