Underworld gangster Abu Salem has moved an application urging a Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court to direct the withdrawal of a book titled 'My name is Abu Salem' that documents the flamboyant life of the ex-Dawood Ibrahim aide.
The court on Tuesday issued notices to the author, former journalist S. Hussain Zaidi, and Penguin Publishers.
Salem’s contention was over a chapter which he said had already pronounced him the killer and conspirator in the murder of builder Pradeep Jain in 1995 even as the matter was sub-judice.
Salem, accused of scheming the murder, was convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
In chapter eight, “First Blood,” Mr. Zaidi mentions how Salem ,after Jain’s gruesome murder, called up his widow Jyoti on March 20 that year during the prayer meeting on the teravahan (13 day), and "gloated" about it.
Salem laughed “hysterically” and asked Jyoti “if she was enjoying her widowhood,” reads the book.
Mr. Zaidi told The Hindu that the narrations were “not a figment of his imagination” but quoted from the “13-page deposition made in court” by Jain’s wife. “We are ready to deal with it legally," he said.
'Salem breached all codes'
The latest in a series of books on Mumbai’s underworld and crime by Mr. Zaidi, the book delves into the personal and criminal life of Abu Salem, including his relationship with actress Monica Bedi.
In the acknowledgment to the book, the author writes that Salem violated all codes of the underworld. “Even ganglords, and dons, despite their sadistic streaks, follow a certain unwritten code. Salem breached all of them.”
'Disposable assassins'
Mr. Zaidi notes how Salem was the one who introduced to the underworld the concept of “disposable assassins.” After the police crackdown on his trained shooters, Salem started the trend of importing shooters from his hometown in Azamgarh. Calling them “desperadoes,” these were “unemployed boys, who were keen on travelling to Mumbai and hungry to earn a decent wage without working too hard and had the guts to do anything that was asked of them.”
The book also divulges minute details about the horrific murder of music director Gulshan Kumar, and how Salem accomplished the “perverse desire” of hearing him beg for mercy (over the phone) even as his henchman pumped bullets into Kumar’s body.
Taking us through the don’s personal life, the book highlights his penchant for being a casanova, who became the sore of the entire Bollywood fraternity. Mr. Zaidi has also authored 'Black Friday' and 'Dubai to Dongri', both adapted into Bollywood films.
