S Hussain Zaidi - My Name is Abu Salem

MY NAME IS ABU SALEM

Contents

PENGUIN BOOKS

MY NAME IS ABU SALEM

S. Hussain Zaidi is a Mumbai-based journalist, a veteran of investigative, crime and terror reporting. He has worked for the Asian Age , Mumbai Mirror , Mid-Day and Indian Express . His previous books include bestsellers such as Black Friday , Dongri to Dubai , Mafia Queens of Mumbai and Byculla to Bangkok . Black Friday and Dongri to Dubai have been adapted into the Bollywood films Black Friday and Shootout at Wadala respectively. He lives with his family in Mumbai.

Also by the same author

Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands (with Jane Borges)
Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia
Headley and I
Byculla to Bangkok

For
Vikram the great Chandra,
My mentor, my school of storytelling and writing, my guru, my friend

Introduction and Acknowledgements

My Name Is Abu Salem is the third book in my mafia trilogy, after Dongri to Dubai and Byculla to Bangkok. Though the actual research took four years, this has been a work-in-progress since 5 August 1997the day I first spoke to Abu Salem. He was holed up in Dubai then; the very day four of his men were arrested in Bandra for planning an attack on the then reigning movie czar Subhash Ghai. It was also exactly a week before the gruesome murder of music magnate Gulshan Kumar.

It has been over seventeen years since, and I have subsequently met Salem on several occasions. There is a deep-seated mutual dislike between us. He cannot comprehend why Im not in awe of him and why I dont spare my acerbic pen while writing about him. Members of the mafia often live under the illusion that they are a much-misunderstood lot and that they absolutely do not deserve the firestorm of criticism directed at them. For instance, Salem believes he is very good-looking and that he is a good human being.

For me, Salem is the embodiment of all that is vicious about the mafiaunchecked power and random killings. But even ganglords and dons, despite their sadistic streaks, follow a certain unwritten code. Salem breached all of them. For instance, after killing builder Pradeep Jain, he gloated about it to his victims widow on the thirteenth day of rituals for her deceased husband. The woman had a nervous breakdown.

In a reporting career spanning nineteen years, Id come across all kinds of maniacs, but never one to match Salem. Incidentally, he belongs to a respectable family, with highly principled parents.

As a journalist and writer, Im not supposed to like or dislike my subject. Being objective in writing about such people is akin to a surgeons code to perform a surgery without allowing his feelings for or against the person to get in the way. In that sense, Salem was a complex, intricate and difficult subject to profile.

However, after over four years of steady research, I realized I would need more time to finish my own investigation as several of Salems trials were nearing conclusion. But time was a luxury I did not have.

I profusely thank my publishers at Penguin and chief editor Chiki Sarkar. Her patience and calm pursuit ensured I finished the book as per my standards of satisfaction. Chiki gave me sufficient latitude and liberty to wrap up the book in the manner that I desired. I would also like to thank my copy editor Shanuj and the cover designer Aashim Raj.

An officer who knows Mumbais criminals and their global misadventures, former New Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar, came to my rescue repeatedly. Mr Kumar had been the joint director of CBI when Salem was in the United States. It was he who nudged the snooty FBI to go after Salem. He was immensely helpful and remained generous with his time, with no airs about his stature and always keen to help me out. Shukriya, karam, meherbani , I am so grateful to have you as my friend, Mr Kumar.

Encounter specialist and Crime Branch cop Pradeep Sharmas resourcefulness and ground-level intelligence gave the book that much-needed boost. Sharma introduced me to the slimiest informants and the most well-connected underworld players hidden in the movie industry. Whenever I hit a dead end in my research, Sharma opened the doors of access to me and ensured that I managed to complete my investigation. My profound gratitude and debt, Janab Sharma Saheb.

Bollywood thrives on a conspiracy of silence. But film-maker Sanjay Gupta, himself a victim of Salems nefarious designs, magnanimously spent hours describing Salems vicelike grip on the film world. It was Sanjays valuable insights that threw light on the plight of the film industry when Abu Salem was calling the shots.

My former colleague Jigna Vora, who was associated with the project since its inception but could not continue because of legal ramifications, displayed exemplary investigative skills and reporting chutzpah in providing information on Salem. Jigna also procured several documents and legal papers for the book. Thank you, Jigna.

After the police and journalists, lawyers were the next big link in helping me finish this project. And the biggest help among them came from a lawyer with tremendous diligence and patience, advocate Saba Kureshi. I met her only a couple of months ago when I was close to winding up the book and she helped me understand the complexities of Salems extradition and its subsequent cancellation by the Portuguese Supreme Court. Saba patiently and painstakingly explained the legal essentials of the case. I would have been accused of several blunders had it not been for her contribution. Thank you, Saba Kureshi.

The other lawyer who helped me was Sudip Pasbola, who paved the way for my meetings with Salem in the sessions court during lunch breaks.

Three journalism students pitched in with their devotion and diligence. Yesha Kotak, Aakash Jain and Bilal Siddiqui transcribed voluminous documents to make things easier for me. Yesha also translated difficult court papers from Hindi and Marathi into English. These young friends of mine are really industrious, efficient and an extremely hard-working lot. I am so inspired by their selfless service and legwork. Thank you, Yesha, Aakash and Bilal, its unimaginable to work without the three of you.

While writing this book I deliberately decided to avoid seeking help from any journalist friends. However, I had to break this vow to seek guidance from Sheela Rawal. Sheela is editor of investigations at Star News and one of the most intrepid investigative journalists in the country. She is the only one who managed to trace Sameera Jumani, Salems wife, in the US and to speak to her for six hours. Since this feat could not have been replicated, I sought Sheelas help in using the interview and other background details on Sameera. Sheela quite generously and unhesitatingly helped me with information, a rare trait among Indian journalists. My in-depth thanks, Sheela.

My thanks will not be complete until I mention friends and contacts who gave me their valuable time during my research, legwork and investigation in Dubai. The Gulf capital is still an underworld hub where gangsters spend their lives behind a thin veneer of respectability but have not entirely recanted from their murky past. They were quite helpful and open while talking about Salem. The man who knew him best and feels most betrayed is Malik. He gave me deep insights into Salems character. Others spoke to me only when they swore me to confidentiality.