Abu Salem returns to haunt Bollywood

Police say Salem had instructed his men to home in on their targets and kill them at various busy traffic junctions in the city. Police Inspector Sunil Dehsmukh, a member of the police hit squad, told Newsline that the diary contains details like licence plate numbers, office addresses, telephone numbers and traffic routes. Having researched their targets thoroughly, they also knew what time their victims left home and returned. “Saleh lok ko traffic signal me dal do (Shoot them at the traffic signal),” Abu Salem is said to have told his hitmen.

Pahlaj Nihalani told Newsline that he as well as other members of the film industry were “grateful” to the Mumbai police for exposing the plot in time. “Now the others can take preventive measures,” says Nihalani.

Deshmukh says the list of 20 persons was long enough to terrorise the film community, the sole aim being the rich pickings Salem could then reap. “A few hits would have been enough to spread terror in Bollywood. The others would immediately start paying up,” he remarks, pointing to the all-too familiar modus operandi.

Salem is believed to joined forces with the Bahrain-based Ali Budesh and with Subash Singh Thakur after he broke away from his mentor Dawood Ibrahim some time in February. Police suspect he left Dubai for Nairobi recently. Salem has also been named as a prime accused in the murder of cassette producer Gulshan Kumar, who was shot dead at Lokhandwala Complex on August 12, 1997. He is also accused in the attempt on the life of film director Rajiv Rai at his Tardeo office in 1998.

Police have, meanwhile, identified two of the three hitmen slain on Saturday as Manish Jaiswal (25) from Illanabad in Uttar Pradesh and Mohammed Hasan Hussain Sheikh (21), a resident of Kathihar in Bihar.