MUMBAI, April 15: In an important development in the Gulshan Kumar murder case, accused-turned-approver Mohammed Ali Shaikh alias Chacha disowned on Wednesday his confession before Bombay High Court alleging that police had pressurised him to falsely implicate music director, Nadeem Akhtar Saifee.The disclosures in Shaikh's petition and annexures thereto are considered significant because the police version in the murder trial is mainly based on the confession of Shaikh who is the only approver in case. This may also affect the extradition proceedings launched by Indian government against Nadeem in London, legal experts feel.Shaikh had confessed that Gulshan's murder was planned in Dubai in the presence of Abu Salem, Qayyum and Nadeem. Shaikh again changed his statement in October last year saying that he was present outside the cabin where the conspiracy to kill Gulshan Kumar was hatched.Shaikh stated that the police repeatedly promised him that he would soon be released. Totally disillusioned anddismayed by traumatic experiences with the cops the approver addressed a petition through the jailor on March 31 last to the chairman of National Human Rights Commission, Justice M N Venkatchalliah.The approver told the court that investigations by cops and statements have been put into his mouth as also other witnesses. Earlier, key witness Shravan of Nadeem-Shravan duo had also retracted vital sections of his statement.Shaikh alleged that he was promised by these police officers that he could dye his hair and get ready to marry again because he would be released soon if he acted on their instructions.They also insisted that he should agree to give his version once again adding the name of one Javed Fawda as the last of the accused.The chargesheet filed by police on November 28 last did not mention Javed Fawda's name. Shaikh was arrested on August 25 and produced on September 1 before a magistrate who remanded him along with other accused to police custody for 14 days.Shaikh produced a copy ofthe magistrate's order to show that he broke down in the court while narrating that he was forced to make a confession based on police version because lives of his family members were in danger.Annexures to the petition revealed that the magistrate refused to record his statement and noted in the order that Shaikh was not voluntarily making a statement.
