Mumbai: Harish Sughand, film financier and hostile witness in Bharat Shah case, on September 18 denied allegations of police that he, actor Sanjay Dutt and directors Mahesh Manjrekar and Sanjay Gupta had links with the Pakistan-based gangster Chhota Shakeel and were feeding him with information on Bollywood.

"We have never helped Shakeel," Sughand, who turned hostile in the court on September 17, told designated Judge A P Bhangale during cross-examination by prosecutor Rohini Salian.

To a question, the witness said he had no knowledge that the songs of film 'Chori Chori Chupke Chupke' were written by Shakeel's daughter.

Asked if actress Preity Zinta was forced to sign for acting in the movie when her car was waiting at a traffic signal, he said, "I don't know."

He also feigned ignorance about police allegation that gangster Abu Salem had financed film 'Devdas'.

The judge asked him whether he knew Abdul Rahim Allah Baksh, alleged lieutenant of Chhota Shakeel, the witness said he was not known to him. The accused Abdul Rahim was asked to stand up in the dock and Sughand said he had never seen him before.

He denied knowledge about links of producer Nasim Rizvi with Shakeel but admitted that he had seen Rizvi on the sets of the film.

PTI