Salem Bombay

The 8216;8216;close to fool-proof evidence8217;8217;, which the CBI claims to possess, along with the outcome of the interrogations currently underway, have already proved to be subject of major speculation in the media as well as in the corridors of power. But will the evidence be clinching? Is Abu Salem really the big fish he is being projected as?

Because, as a retired IPS officer puts it, 8216;8216;It was only between 1995 and 2001 that Abu Salem emerged from the shadows of the D-Company. Before that he was a nobody.8217;8217;

Abu Salem, the 1993 serial blast investigators vouch, did not have a major role in the blast as a conspirator. 8216;8216;He distributed arms and ammunition8212;the same charge that actor Sanjay Dutt faces,8217;8217; says a senior member of the team. 8216;8216;That means the outcome for Abu Salem can be as good as Sanjay Dutt8217;s, at least in this case.8217;8217;

Arms and the Men
THE journey that Salem undertook from Azamgarh to Mumbai took a sudden turn in January 1993, when he drove a Maruti van allegedly full of ammunition to an address in Bandra.

This was the time when Mumbai was witnessing communal riots, when being a Muslim marked one out as much as being a Hindu. Security had been stepped up across the city following information that arms and ammunition that had landed in Gujarat were being distributed across the city.

According to the police, on January 15, 1993, Anees Ibrahim, brother of the Big D, called Bollywood producer Samir Hingora in search of a safe place where the arms8212;nine AK-56 rifles and 80 hand grenades8212;could be stashed away till Muslims needed to use them for retaliation. Hingora and his partner Hanif Kadawala declined, on the grounds that their Bandra office of Magnum Videos was not safe.

The next call was made to Dutt. He agreed to store the arms, according to D-Company man Baba Chauhan8217;s confession to the police. So Chauhan and Salem8212;still a delivery boy, rather than an independent operator8212;drove to Dutt8217;s residence. After Dutt reassigns a police constable on duty at the main gate so that the car can enter the premises, Chauhan and Salem dump the goods and drive off.

According to police sources, a full week passes by before Dutt begins to panic. Anees heeds his SOS and sends Salem8212;this time in a blue Maruti Esteem8212;to pick up the arms, all except an AK-56. All four8212;including Dutt8212;confess their actions to Zone III Deputy Commisioner K L Bishnoi, but later retract the statements.

Wrong Delivery?
IT8217;LL be interesting to see on November 23, when the CBI concludes the first round of interrogation, if there is anything more to this oft-repeated story. While a section of the police argues that this is all there is to it, some believe that the D-Company would not have tasked a greenhorn with the work of delivering arms.

8216;8216;He had to have known the entire conspiracy, even if he wasn8217;t part of the execution team. In fact, many official caps will be under the scanner as there is no way that this could have taken place without the connivance of a few officers both in the Customs and the police. Salem may emerge as a gateway to nailing them,8217;8217; says a former IPS officer.

Part of his confidence in the connivance theory comes from the sheer magnitude of the conspiracy: From the landing of the RDX, to training personnel, to selecting the attack zones to finally executing the deed, a large number of hands must have been involved. 8216;8216;Plus, it8217;s near-impossible that a random driver would be sent with such a consignment to a star8217;s house,8217;8217; says the former officer.

While lawyers across Mumbai are divided about the charges, they are certain that if Salem admits his delivery-boy role in the blasts, the maximum sentence he will attract is five years. Unless, that is, the CBI can prove there is more to his role than meets the eye.

The Weakest Link
IT is the prosecution8217;s case that there were quite a few meetings of the conspirators8212;including key accused Tiger Memon8212;at the Shamiana in the Taj Mahal hotel, in Dubai, at gangster Babloo Srivastava8217;s Bandra residence, and finally, at Al Hussaini, where the RDX was stored. It does not even hint that Salem was present at any of these meetings.

But, a decade after leaving the country8217;s shores, Salem is also not just a convict extradited from a European nation: He is a significant specimen for the enforcement and police forces, who can now split hairs on the ways the D-Company worked.

8216;8216;He will be the passport which the enforcement agencies can use to understand how the underworld works,8217;8217; says an officer. Agree CBI sources: 8216;8216;The underworld has its connections in the bureaucracy, in politics, in the police, in the legal fraternity and in every aspect related to power. Salem will be able to tell us how the syndicate uses the power buttons.8217;8217;

Not to forget divulging details of the white investments that the underworld has in different parts of the country, adds a former police commissioner.

Case by Case
BUT how did a small-time goon, a favourite of the don8217;s brother, become one of India8217;s most-wanted?

A Mumbai police crime dossier has it that it all began when he began emerging as competition for Dawood favourite Chhota Shakeel in the period between 1995 and 1997. As Salem perfected his extortion techniques among builders and Bollywood denizens, Shakeel began losing his gradually increasing clout.

8216;8216;Salem8217;s rates were easily above Shakeel8217;s. Plus he introduced his own style in wheeling-dealing. He was the first don who began telling his victims to call back8212;later, many adopted the same technique,8217;8217; says a Crime Branch officer. 8216;8216;So much so, Salem became 8216;Extortion Bhai8217; in less than five years, while Shakeel slogged for over a decade.8217;8217;

This is an area where the CBI and the police hope Salem will be able to shed light on. The Bollywood-Underworld nexus is said to be bringing up the rear of the points of interrogation.

Ironical, because the murder of T-Series moghul Gulshan Kumar marked the beginning of the rise of Abu Salem. Many believe this to be the first killing planned and executed independently by Salem, without the slightest back-up from the D-Company.

So, while it could have been the most strong case to nail the don, it8217;s absence in the list of eight cases on the extradition agreement comes as a shock. 8216;8216;The evidence was not strong enough to present it before the Portugal court,8217;8217; says a crime branch source.

You can almost picture the don smiting his forehead.

The Life and Crimes
SMITA NAIR 038; SWATEE KHER

In 1985, a 23-year-old class IX dropout named Abu Salem Abdul Qayuum Ansari came from Mir Sarai to Mumbai to make his fortune. The first baggage to be dropped was his name: The mouthful was replaced by Abu Bakr Salem. The name appeared more Jordanian-Middle Eastern and caught on with Mumbaiites.

Nine years later, Abu Salem had lost his middle name and become Dawood Ibrahim8217;s right-hand man, in charge of the lucrative Bollywood and real estate extortion businesses.

Between 1985 and 1989, though, the diminutive Salem, one of four children born to a lawyer8217;s clerk in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, tried out the straight and narrow, working with his uncle and cousin in the garment business and as a real estate agent in Arsa market in Andheri.

The last avatar brought him in touch with the D-Company through J K Ibrahim, a gold smuggler. After fixing a few land deals for the gang, Salem met Anees Ibrahim, the big man8217;s brother, who offered him a job as a driver, transporting arms for the gang.

His efficiency as a delivery boy earned him the nickname 8216;Abu Saaman8217;; it was also probably the reason why he was given the responsibility of delivering arms and ammunition before the Bombay blasts of 1993.

A COUPLE of years before that, however, Salem was picked up by a team led by Additional Commissioner of Police A A Khan for reportedly threatening local shopkeepers. The small-town man was evidently dreaming big-time: Extortion was to be the foundation of his empire.

According to police officers in charge then, Abu Salem, at this stage, was just a small fry. The big league comprised Arun Gawli, Chhota Shakeel, Yusuf Patel, the Memons and Dawood Ibrahim.

Ironically, his rise into the power clique began after he fled to Dubai in 1993, when the police began rounding up suspects of the March 12 blasts, which killed 257 people and injured 700. By 1994, Salem had created a niche for himself through his basic responsibilities8212;extorting from builders and Bollywood8212;and ranked third in the D-Company after Chhota Shakeel and Chhota Rajan.

Within a couple of years, Salem was raking in more money than Shakeel. His proximity to Anees further heightened Shakeel8217;s insecurity. But it was Salem who reportedly began to find himself marginalised within the gang, triggering a desire to strike out on his own.

Main hoon Don. Now let hte CBI prove the charges

His wealth, he decided, would come from extorting Bollywood and securing the overseas rights of Hindi films. The modus operandi was equally black-and-white: He would call up the victim, direct him to call back on a certain number. The victim, scared and worried, would call back, only to be told to cough up a certain amount or face the consequences.

THE repercussions of disobedience were driven home on August 11, 1997. T-Series baron Gulshan Kumar was shot dead in broad daylight. The murder created a sensation and served his purpose better than a thousand phonecalls.

Actors, producers and directors no longer dared to turn him down, and regularly made trips to Dubai to entertain him. It was during one such show that he met Monica Bedi, whom he later married. Bedi, a Norway resident, was a Bollywood aspirant, and grew close to Salem after her friend Mukesh Duggal was killed in 2000 by Salem8217;s rival Chhota Rajan.

Bedi became Salem8217;s source in Bollywood, updating him on tinseltown movers and shakers and aiding him in his operations in the US and Portugal. In Norway, where Bedi8217;s parents continued to reside, Salem launched three cinemas to exclusively screen Hindi movies.

Bedi remained loyal to him, even when he was on the run from Dawood, Chhota Shakeel and the Indian police. The curtains came down on the don-and-moll saga in Portugal, but only time will tell if this is the intermission or the finale.

Digging up the Dirt
Talk about a warm welcome. On his return to India, Abu Salem finds an array of eight cases lined up in various stages of trial against him. Presenting the rap sheet

8226; CONSPIRACY TO KILL GANGSTER BABLOO SRIVASTAVA
November 3, 1998
Section 120-B IPC
Police station: Hauz Khas, Delhi

FIR no. 849 charges Abu Salem with 8216;conspiring8217; with Delhi-based Congressman Romesh Sharma to kill dreaded UP goon Babloo Srivastava. In a telephonic conversation from Dubai, Abu Salem allegedly discussed the possibility of sending his men to Allahabad jail, where Srivastava was lodged. Babloo was suspected to have eliminated D-Company man Mirza Dilshad Akhtar Beg in Nepal.

EVIDENCE: A tape of conversation between Romesh Sharma and Abu Salem recorded on November 2, 1998.

CASE STATUS: Romesh Sharma was arrested on November 4, 1998. During the trial, the defence lawyer contended that Salem8217;s voice does not figure in the tape. Srivastava was called to identify Abu Salem8217;s voice.

IF CONVICTED: For hatching criminal conspiracy, Salem can be imprisoned for a maximum of three years.

8226; EXTORTION CONSPIRACY
November 3, 1998
Section 120-B IPC
Police station: Hauz Khas, Delhi

FIR no. 850, too, Abu Salem is charged with hatching a criminal conspiracy: In a phone conversation, Romesh Sharma allegedly gave Salem telephone numbers of a few businessmen8212;including Lucky Exports director Vinay Singh8212;who, when threatened, would be ready to pay money. Salem allegedly threatened Singh and asked him to pay a huge sum to one Gautam Adnani. An Income Tax raid on Sharma8217;s house on October 20, 1998, yielded two cheques, adding up to Rs 50 lakh, issued by a second Lucky Exports director to Adnani Exports. Investigators said this meant Salem-Sharma had managed to extort Rs 50 lakh from Singh.

With Sharma8217;s help, Salem allegedly also made extortion calls for Rs 2 crore to a Punjab politician and threatened a woman to sign over the title deed of her South Delhi house for Rs 70 lakh 8216;8216;or we8217;ll get it done for Rs 70,0008217;8217;.

EVIDENCE: A taped conversation of Abu Salem, statements of the victims. There are only oral testimonies, no corroborative evidence.

CASE STATUS: In trial.

IF CONVICTED: Abu Salem may be sent to prison for a maximum of three years.

8226; EXTORTION, THREATS
April 4, 2002
Sections 506 IPC and MCOCA
Police station: Greater Kailash, Delhi

Abu Salem allegedly called GK businessman Ashok Kumar Gupta to extort Rs 5 crore. Gupta was also given international phone numbers 00971507367248, 00601193034851, 0087166341860, purportedly belonging to Salem. The police traced calls made from these numbers to six Delhi mobile phones and arrested Pawan Mittal, Sajan Soni, Majid Khan, Chanchal Mehta and Asraf Mohammad Khan, who revealed that they had issued threats to two businessmen in Kathmandu and Kolkata.

EVIDENCE: Statement of arrested accused. Salem8217;s voice sample was matched with the taped conversation between Salem and Gupta. Spectography tests indicated that the voices matched.

CASE STATUS: In trial.

IF CONVICTED: Salem can get upto seven years for running an organised crime racket.

8226; MURDER OF BUILDER PRADEEP JAIN
March 7, 1995
Sections 321, 32ii, 33, 35, 5, 6 of TADA
Police station: D N Nagar, Mumbai

Ninety-nine bullets were pumped into Pradeep Jain at his Kamla Constructions office by hired goons for resisting pressure to part with property at Andheri East. Salem was named as conspirator, as he allegedly made threatening calls to Jain in February 1994, and also coordinated the entire exercise.

EVIDENCE: According to public prosecutor Rohini Salian, hired guns8217; evidence against Salem is the strongest evidence against Salem. This was corroborated by the testimony of Jyoti Jain, Pradeep8217;s widow, and her brother-in-law Sunil in TADA court: they were aware of the threatening calls from Salem.

CASE STATUS: The judgment has been declared in the case and two sharpshooters were sentenced for life. In appeal, the Supreme Court found Salem guilty in 2001 but not sentenced, as he was absconding.

IF CONVICTED: Under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities prevention Act, 1987, Salem can get life sentence.

8226; MUMBAI Serial Bomb BlastS
March 1993
In charge of the CBI

Two hundred and fifty-seven people died in the Mumbai blasts of 1993. While Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon are the key accused in the case, Salem is said to be have supplied actor Sanjay Dutt arms from a consignment that landed in Raigad. Salem faces charges of criminal conspiracy, acting to facilitate the blasts and distributing weapons before the blasts

EVIDENCE: Co-accused have made statements8212;later retracted8212;about visiting Dutt. CBI claims it has evidence to nail Salem8217;s role in conspiracy.

CASE STATUS: In trial. Experts agree, though, that the CBI needs to have a strong dossier to prove Salem was not just a delivery boy but was privy to the conspiracy.

IF CONVICTED: Of more than delivering weapons, could face a life sentence. Alternatively, between two and three years.

8226; PASSPORT FORGERY
IPC Sections 471, 467, 474, 467
In charge of the CBI

On the run for five years, Salem used two passports procured illegally from Lucknow and Hyderabad. In the first passport, Salem is identified as Akhil Ahmad Azmi, born June 20, 1965. The Hyderabad passport case involves eight others, including Monica Bedi, and identifies Bedi and Salem as residents of Kurnool.

EVIDENCE: Material evidence in the fake passports and the documents supplied to procure them. The defence may plead that the photos in the passports are not his.

CASE STATUS: Now that Salem is back in the country, he will be tried for both offences

IF CONVICTED: Could face upto 10 years in prison.

8226; MURDER OF STAR SECRETARY AJIT DEWANI
June 30, 2001
MCOCA Sections 31I, 32, 34,35Police station: Oshiwara, Mumbai

Secretary to actors Aftab Shivdasani and Manisha Koirala, Ajit Dewani was found dead on June 30, 2001. Three unidentified men allegedly shot him for refusing to pay protection money.

EVIDENCE: Records of telephonic conversations in terms of bills and time of calls, along with numbers. The prosecution was to present four eyewitnesses, but that has not happened so far.

CASE STATUS: In early stages yet, with around 10 witnesses examined so far. The accused have agreed to defer the trial till after the Best Bakery case in the Special Sessions Court in Mazagaon.

IF CONVICTED: Could face life imprisonment or even a death sentence.

Pratul Sharma in Delhi, Smita Nair and Swatee Kher in Mumbai