Third time unlucky in love for Abu Salem; Mumbra woman latest to leave underworld don

Pictures of the gangster Abu Salem and the woman, which were published exclusively by this newspaper seven years ago

Underworld don Abu Salem seems to have been tossed aside by a partner for the third time. The latest woman to have apparently walked out on the gangster hails from Mumbra and came into the spotlight after being photographed alongside the mafioso, who was travelling by train for a hearing, a few years ago. mid-day published pictures of the lovebirds on July 4, 2016. Two years later, the report was confirmed when Salem sought parole to marry. His application, however, was rejected.

Salem, who is serving a 25-year sentence in Panvel's Taloja Central Jail, was married to one Sumaira Jumani in the early 1990s but she divorced him when he was behind bars. He was later linked to Bollywood actress Monica Bedi, who was extradited with him from Portugal. Whatever hopes he may have had of tying the knot the second time seem to be dashed.

Pictures of Abu Salem and the woman, published exclusively by this newspaper seven years ago

The woman photographed with Salem in 2016 got married on January 5 in a Mumbra-based marriage hall. mid-day is in possession of the wedding invitation and photos but has refrained from publishing them to protect her identity as she begins her new life. After the news of the wedding spread, questions were raised as to whether she had ditched Salem or if there was another reason for getting married.

Sources close to the family claim she had not married Salem officially. But there was also news that the couple had solemnised their union on a moving train by performing nikah with the help of a kazi in 2014 and was also trying to get married officially but it didn't work out as the jail authorities and local administration denied permission for parole.

"Seeing no sign of hope, the woman may have opted to get settled rather than wait for Salem, who will spend most of his life in prison after being convicted in the 1993 bomb blasts case," a source revealed. The wedding was attended by well-known political leaders, businessmen and scholars from Mumbra and other parts of the city. Questions have been raised as to whether Salem is aware of the marriage.

Also, if the news that she performed a nikah with the gangster on a train were true, she would have to obtain talaq [divorce] before performing nikah with a new person, as per Sharia law. Only the gangster can answer these questions. In July 2016, mid-day exclusively carried pictures of Salem Ansari and the woman on a train in a report titled ‘Don and his honeymoon travels', prompting a police investigation where the statements of the woman and close family members of hers were recorded.

The investigators' findings

The woman, now in her early 30s, rose to infamy after allegedly travelling with Abu Salem on January 5, 2014, to Azamgarh. The Thane police, which investigated the matter, found that her mobile location matched with that of Salem while he was travelling. The woman and her relatives, however, claimed that the mobile SIM card issued in her name had been used by her maternal grandfather who was travelling with Salem as he was taking care of his legal work.

Foiled parole plan

On February 16, 2018, Abu Salem wrote a letter to Taloja Central Jail authorities seeking 45-day parole to get married under the Special Marriage Act on May 5, 2018, at Mumbra. The letter was then forwarded to the divisional commissioner, Konkan division on March 23 that year. In the letter, Salem claimed that he had been behind bars for more than 12 years and had never been on parole or taken any leave earlier.

The divisional commissioner then forwarded the letter to the Thane police commissionerate, which then forwarded it to the Mumbra police station on April 5, 11 and 16, 2018 to verify Salem's claims and check if parole could be granted to the convict.

The Mumbra cops started looking into the claims and also questioned and recorded the statements of the woman and family members who wanted to stand as surety for Salem. However, permission for the marriage was denied by the local administration and police, citing various reasons. Sources also claimed that the woman's family had been sending a tiffin to Salem until the past few years. It is also said that the woman's relatives were taking care of Salem's legal cases and paperwork. mid-day tried to contact the woman's family but received no response by press time.

Police Speak

A senior Thane police officer said, "The woman has no criminal record. Hence, we have not kept an eye on her. We were not aware that she got married recently, but we will check the claims as Salem had sought parole and leave in the past."

About Abu Salem

>> In Sept 2002, Abu Salem was arrested along with Monica Bedi by Interpol in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2004, a Portugal court cleared his extradition to India to face trial in the 1993 Bombay blasts case.

>> In November 2005, Portuguese authorities handed him over to India on the assurance by the government of India that the death penalty would not be handed out. Salem was convicted in the blasts case and murder of music baron Gulshan Kumar.

>> In 2017, the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court convicted six men, including Salem, for playing a role in the blasts, which killed 257 people and injured 713. While Salem and Karimullah Khan were sentenced to life, the TADA court sentenced Taher Merchant and Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan to death.

>> In another case, Salem was sentenced to life by a TADA court in 2015 after finding him guilty in the 1995 murder case of builder Pradeep Jain.

>> In 2018, India told a Portuguese court that Salem would not be extradited to Portugal until he completed his 25-year sentence. The government was responding to an application Salem made in the Lisbon court, asking to be taken back.

Jan 5
Day woman tied knot with another man

2002
Year Salem was arrested by Interpol