Abu Salem strikes again?

MUMBAI, AUGUST 12: Crime Branch of the Mumbai police suspect Abu Salem as the prime instigator of the daylight killing. The Dubai-based Sal...

MUMBAI, AUGUST 12: Crime Branch of the Mumbai police suspect Abu Salem as the prime instigator of the daylight killing. The Dubai-based Salem is close to Dawood Ibrahim8217;s brother Anis. Even though the police has not identified the killers, deputy commissioner crime, K L Prasad said on Tuesday, quot;There is strong evidence to suggest that Abu Salem had ordered the killing.quot;

According to Prasad, a city builder received a phone call this afternoon from a man claiming to be Abu Salem who asked the builder to cough up Rs 20 lakh or face the bullet. Salem reportedly warned the builder that he would meet the same fate as that of Gulshan if he did not pay up, added Prasad.

Prasad said Salem referred to the acquittal of some of his men charged with the murder of builder Pradeep Jain and told the builder that he had to make good the Rs 20 lakh he spent fighting the case. Six Abu Salem men were arrested under TADA for the March 1995 murder of Pradeep Jain in Andheri after Jain apparently refused to sell off some property of his worth several crores to another city landshark. But only last week, a TADA court acquitted them of the charge of murder.

In other quarters the question being raised is: Was it possible to have saved Kumar8217;s life? He had received several threatening calls from Abu Salem demanding Rs 2 crore. The last threatening call was allegedly made about ten days back. Though Gulshan Kumar had not notified the police, Salem, days after the attack on Rai, had proclaimed to this newspaper his intentions to 8220;knock out8221; a prominent film personality in quot;filmy stylequot;. The police said that they were investigating if the music baron had actually paid Rs 50 lakh protection money to Abu Salem.

Joint Commissioner Charan Singh Azad told this newspaper that Gulshan Kumar never reported to the police that he was being threatened by gangsters. 8220;Police protection could have been provided after ascertaining the threat perception,8221;added Azad. According to Joint Commissioner Adm T K Chowdhury, the commissioner of police S C Malhotra office today received phone calls from several film personalities seeking police cover. We are considering it, he added.