Kin, pals bid adieu to Abis Rizvi

Mumbai: The family of slain Bandra resident Abis Rizvi, who was shot dead at an Istanbul nightclub early on Sunday in a terror attack, laid him to rest at Mazgaon’s Rehmatabad cemetery on Wednesday afternoon.

The grieving family members, who brought his body to Mumbai by air early in the morning, were shocked to see Rizvi’s bullet-riddled body. Sources close to the family said that while performing the ritualistic bath (ghusl) on Abis’s body, they saw several bullet wounds on his face, chest and legs, which indicated that he was very close to gunman, who sprayed bullets inside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul on Sunday night. Thirty-nine people were killed and over 69 injured in the deadly terror attack.

Several Bollywood personalities, politicians and industrialists attended Rizvi’s funeral on Wednesday. He was the CEO of the Rizvi Group, who lived in Bandra (west). “There was a wound on his jaw and several wounds on his chest and legs. It seems the gunman must have shot him even after he had fallen,” said a cousin who requested anonymity.

Actor-choreographer-comedian Javed Jaaferi, a close friend of Rizvi said, “There are no words to describe the death of Abis. Everyone who was associated with him will feel his absence.” Rizvi’s death has come as a blow to the family. He was overseeing the completion of the film He-Man and was also busy with a residential project at Malad.   

Other film personalities who were present for the funeral included producer director Abbas Mastan, actor Puneet Isaar and producer Anjum Rizvi, who is also the cousin of Abis. Politicians including Shiv Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar and former Congress MLA Baba Siddiqui were also attended the funeral.

Earlier in the day, the mortal remains of Abis along with Vadodra fashion designer Khushi Shah who was also shot dead in the nightclub attack arrived via a Turkish Airlines flight at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. Rizvi’s father Akhtar Rizvi, a former Rajya Sabha MP accompanied the body which was taken to their Bandra residence.