HC defends life sentence for assailant in Gulshan Kumar murder case

TThe Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the life sentence of Abdul Rauf Dawood Merchant for the murder of T-Series music label founder Gulshan Kumar on August 12, 1997. It upheld the acquittal of film producer Ramesh Taurani in the case.

A division bench of Justices Sadhana Jadhav and NR Borkar set aside the acquittal of Abdul Rashid Dawood Merchant in the case and convicted him. The bench upheld Rauf’s conviction and sentence under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy). However, this acquitted him of charges under sections 392 (punishment for robbery) and 397 (robbery or theft with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.

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The court said: “The appellant (Abdul Rauf) has a criminal record and is not eligible for pardon as he absconded immediately after his arrest. Therefore, in the interests of justice, the appellant does not deserve any leniency.”

Abdul Rashid was acquitted by the trial court but was convicted of murder and criminal conspiracy by the Supreme Court, which ordered him to surrender either before a sessions court or at the DN Nagar police station, failing which a non-bailable warrant would be issued against him.

Conspiracy Hatching

According to the prosecution, the plot to kill Kumar was hatched in Anees Ibrahim’s office in May 1997 after the music baron refused to pay ₹10 million to gangster Abu Salem as protection money. Abdul Rauf was present at the meeting along with Salem, music composer Nadee Saifee and one Abdul Qayyum. Salem then ordered Abdul Rauf to kill Kumar and promised him money, men and weapons.

Kumar received extortion calls on 5 and 8 August 1997 but refused to pay the extortion money. On August 12, 1997, when he got out of his car to visit a temple at Jeet Nagar in Versova, two teams of attackers, one led by Abdul Rauf and the other by Abdul Rashid, saw an opportune moment as his bodyguard with a carbine was missing that day.

One of the assailants, identified as Adil Mohammed Ali Khan, approached Kumar and fired at him at close range. Kumar tried to escape through the inner premises of the slum, but the attackers, who first fired in the air to disperse the crowd, fired 16 bullets to kill him on the spot.

On 9 January 2001, Abdul Rauf confessed to the murder. On 29 April 2002, Judge ML Tahilyani sentenced Abdul Rauf to life imprisonment. He fled India in 2009 after the Supreme Court granted him leave. However, he was extradited from Bangladesh in 2016 and lodged in Arthur Road Jail.

Published – July 1, 2021 12:54 PM IST