It’s no hidden secret that Bollywood-Dawood nexus has always existed. We are well aware of how, through the 90s, India’s most wanted man Dawood Ibrahim was sitting in Pakistan and controlling showbiz in India.
From pouring money into film production to having actors over for his own benefit, he remained the undisputed underworld king of Bollywood. Huge amount of black money were turned into white money using the Bollywood film industry channel. In 2011, a leaked cable released by WikiLeaks had spoken of the film industry’s underworld connections, and that “it welcomed funds from gangsters and politicians looking for ways to launder their ill-gotten gains, known in India as black money“. In 2012, a sting operation by news website Cobrapost had caught leading producers and directors allegedly admitting on camera how the industry is being used to convert ‘black’ money into ‘white’.
However, what is quite shocking is that even today, the connection between Dawood’s and Bollywood still prevails. According to recent reports, Bollywood film actor, director and producer Arbaaz Khan has reportedly been summoned by the Thane police for questioning in regards to a betting probe into the Indian Premier League (IPL). His name cropped up during the investigation of high profile bookie Sonu Jalan. Arbaaz has been asked to record his statement by the anti-extortion cell of Thane crime branch.
Arbaaz comes from one of the industry’s most prominent families, being Salman Khan’s brother and Malaika Arora’s ex- husband. The fact that he was hobnobbing and indulging in illegal activities such as betting with Dawood’s bookies, shows that Dawood still holds a sway among people in the industry.
Investigating officer Pradeep Sharma has confirmed the news saying, ” We have sent summons to Arbaaz Khan as we found some link between him and bookie Sonu Jalan. We have asked him to present himself in the police station.” He further said, ” 3500 punters are involved and the turn over in IPL is more than Rs 1000 crore. Exact amount is unknown.”
According to reports, Arbaaz Khan lost 2.8 crores in betting in IPL in 2008. It has come out that he was in contact with Dawood’s bookie Sonu Jalan and used to place bets through him. Officer Pradeep Sharma said, ” We have found photos and chats that show Jalan and Khan (Arbaaz) were in touch.” He also added, “Jalan had arranged a match-fixing meeting at Dubai. The celebrity was also present at that time. We are probing to know which match was fixed and who all were involved.” Arbaaz has appeared before the Thane police and investigation was on process. But then according to the recent development Arbaaz Khan has confessed to having placed bets on Indian Premier League matches last year, Thane police sources said on Saturday.
According to reports Sonu Jalan even threatened to Kill Arbaaz Khan.
#CricketFansCheated | Bookie threatened to kill Arbaaz after he lost Rs 2.83 crore in this IPL season say sourceshttps://t.co/7FJgI4Qce3
— Republic (@republic) June 1, 2018
Not just Arbaaz Khan but many other celebrities were also involved in betting, making a handsome amount of money.
What Arbaaz Khan did is not just illegal but also immoral and betrayed the country by being involved with a known terrorist and enemy of the nation. He played with the emotions of the citizens as he aided a person known to have engineered the 1993 Bombay serial bombings. Now waiting for the Bollywood placard activist to side with their tribe man as usual and justify his crime on the name of artistic freedom and to make a biopic film on Arbaaz Khan.