Gulshan Kumar murder: case weakens as accused dies

Over a decade after the underworld delivered a telling blow to Bollywood by gunning down music baron Gulshan Kumar outside a temple in Juhu on August 12, 1997...

Over a decade after the underworld delivered a telling blow to Bollywood by gunning down music baron Gulshan Kumar outside a temple in Juhu on August 12, 1997, the case is floundering once again with the death of approver-turned-accused Mohammed Ali Shaikh. The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has based its case against gangster Abu Salem, music director Nadeem Saifee and now-acquitted Tips Industries owner Ramesh Taurani mostly on Shaikh8217;s statement.

An ailing Shaikh 74 died at his Ghatkopar residence on Sunday of natural causes. According to the police, Shaikh was present at a meeting held between extradited gangster Abu Salem and Nadeem Saifee in Dubai in 1997, where the entire conspiracy was allegedly hatched. Earlier, the police had failed to prove the case in court after Shaikh turned hostile stating that he did not know Salem or Saifee. Shaikh was later re-arrested and made an accused. He would have been tried on charges of conspiring to kill Kumar.

Defence lawyer Subhash Kanse said Shaikh was a cardiac patient and a diabetic. 8220;Even during the court hearings he was always accompanied by his wife to court. There have been instances when the court was about to issue warrants against him for non-appearance in court but a lenient approach was taken considering his age and medical background,8221; Kanse said. Joint Commissioner of Police Crime Rakesh Maria confirmed that Shaikh died after suffering from asthma and said the case against him would now be dismissed.

Senior lawyers acquainted with the case pointed out that in the earlier trial, a sessions court had convicted one assailant to life imprisonment, but dropped the conspiracy charges. Had Shaikh been found guilty of conspiracy, the involvement of others, including Abu Salem, could have been established. Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said Shaikh was being tried for conspiracy. 8220;But we also wanted to try him for additional charges of an approver turning hostile,8221; he added.

Shaikh was arrested along with 19 other accused in 1997, soon after the murder of Kumar. In custody, he agreed to turn approver, a prosecution witness who could depict the entire conspiracy theory and pin down all the accused. However, he later turned hostile and his trial was separated.

With Shaikh turning hostile, the prosecution8217;s case was considerably weakened. The court acquitted 18 of the accused including Tips Industries chief Ramesh Taurani. Only shooter Abdul Rauf Daud Merchant, identified in court, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2002.