Deported Gulshan Kumar murder accused to be tried

Thirteen years after music baron Gulshan Kumar was gunned down, the trial of one of the accused, deported from Dubai in 2007, will begin.

Thirteen years after music baron Gulshan Kumar was gunned down, the trial of one of the accused, deported from Dubai in 2007, will begin.

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The trial against Abdul Qayyum Sheikh will begin from April 13 at the Sewree sessions court.

On Saturday, prosecution told the court they will examine nine witnesses against Sheikh who was deported in 2007.

Music label T-Series’ owner Gulshan Kumar was shot dead outside Andheri’s Shiv Temple on August 12, 1997. He was killed by three hitmen who emptied more than 10 bullets into them.

According to the prosecution, Sheikh is one of the main conspirators, present at all the meetings that happened in Dubai when the plot was hatched.

The meetings allegedly took place at the office of Anees Ibrahim, younger brother of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Sheikh is allegedly a close aide of extradited gangster Abu Salem, at whose behest Kumar was murdered.

Salem is still shown as an absconding accused in Kumar’s murder. The extradition treaty signed with Portugal did not mention he would be tried for this case.

Prosecution argued that music director Nadeem Saifee had hired gangster Abu Salem to kill Gulshan Kumar at the instance of a business rival, Ramesh Taurani.

Salem allegedly asked his aide, Abdul Rauf Merchant to kill Kumar.

Taurani and 17 others were, however, acquitted because the conspiracy charges were not proved.

Salem is yet to face trial as he was extradited from Portugal after the trial court gave its verdict.

Since Kumar’s murder, Saifee has taken refuge in London.

India has tried to get him extradited from the UK, and failed.