Mumbai, September 30
A special court in Mumbai today found film financier and diamond merchant Bharat Shah, film producer Nazim Rizvi and his assistant Abdul Rahim Allahbaksh Khan guilty of having links with the underworld.

However, designated Judge A P Bangale of the special court, constituted under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), ruled that Shah was guilty under the Indian Penal Code and not under the special law under which he was originally tried.

Rizvi and Baksh were, however, found guilty under the MCOCA. All of them have been accused of targeting film personalities for extortion using their links with the underworld.

The judge acquitted co-accused and Dubai-based businessman Mohammed Shamshuddin alias Bhatija of the charges for lack of evidence.

The court will decide on the quantum of punishment after hearing all parties tomorrow.

The arrest of Rizvi, close on the heels of his film ‘Chori Chori Chupke Chupke’s’ release more than two years ago unveiled the lid on Bollywood’s underworld links.

After Rizvi confessed to his mob links, the police arrested his assistant Baksh and eventually Shah. The high-profile diamond merchant and financier received bail after spending more than a year in Mumbai and Thane central jails under tough conditions.

Rizvi, a small-time producer of C-grade films for 10 years, hit the big league with ‘Chori Chori Chupke Chupke’ starring Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta. It was alleged that Rizvi and Shah coerced several of the top stars into acting for the film.

Among other things, the Mumbai police released telephone tapes of Shah’s conversations with alleged Pakistan-based mobster Chhota Shakeel.