A special court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Bollywood financier Bharat Shah in a case of alleged nexus with underworld, but allowed him to undertake treatment in a private hospital under the supervision of government doctors till January 8. Asking the prosecution to open its case on January 8, the designated judge A P Bhangale ordered that Shah may be brought to the court on that day to stand trial if he was fit to appear.
Ordering expeditious trial, the judge, however, allowed Shah to undertake treatment in Lilavati Hospital and directed the dean of government-owned J J Hospital to ensure that he was treated well by expert doctors so that he became fit to attend the court proceedings. The court rejected Shah's bail plea on medical ground. This was the first time he had urged for liberty on health ground. His bail plea on merits have been rejected on six occasions earlier by the special court and Mumbai high court. In a related development, co-accused and film producer Nasim Rizvi and his assistant Abdul Rahim Allah Baksh were remanded to judicial custody till January 8.
The judge also allowed Rizvi's plea to undertake treatment in a private hospital for a lump in his neck. Doctors had prescribed medicines but Rizvi urged through his counsel Sayaji Nangre that he would prefer biopsy and surgery. Police claim to have recorded telephonic talks between Shah, Rizvi, Abdul Rahim and Karachi-based gangster Chhota Shakeel which allegedly reveal that they had targetted film personalities for personal gains.
Bureau Report