Nagma: ?False charge?

Mumbai, Feb. 13: Actor Nagma stands accused of links with gangster Dawood Ibrahim?s brother Anees in a confession made by an alleged member of the underworld.

Zamiruddin, alias Jambo, an accused in a case against two gutka barons, made the confession to police in October 2004.

The statement was today presented before the chief metropolitan magistrate and sent to the court where the gutka case is being heard under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

Nagma, who joined the Congress last year, said: ?It is an outright false charge and a politically-motivated attack because of some jealousy.?

Jambo said in his confession that under instructions from Anees, who is allegedly close to Nagma, he handed Rs 10 lakh to the actor at her Bandra Carter Road flat, possibly in a hawala transaction.

The disclosure comes within days of the CBI taking over investigation of the charges against Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal and J.M. Joshi, owners of two gutka brands, of having links with the underworld.

Jambo is a co-accused with Rajesh Panchariya, Dawood and Anees in an offence registered by the CBI under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act and the Maharashtra act for alleged smuggling of gutka pouch-making machinery to Karachi and extortion.

He and Panchariya had named the gutka barons for seeking Dawood?s help to settle a dispute and assisting Anees to set up a gutka business in Pakistan.

Indian authorities say Dawood is based in Karachi.

Dhariwal and Joshi have not been named in the FIR but non-bailable warrants were issued against them as they had failed to appear for questioning.

Nagma, who has starred with Salman Khan in Baaghi and in Yalgaar with Sunjay Dutt, told a TV channel that she would ?file a criminal defamation case against the person who has made the charges against me?.

She also questioned the timing of the charges being made public, months after they were levelled.

?Why were the reports made public when I have just returned from successful political campaigning in Jharkhand?? she asked.