New Delhi, October 25
The excitement following the reports of arrest of India’s one of the most wanted criminals, Abu Salem, in Sharjah could be short-lived with no confirmation as yet available either from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), nodal agency handling the issue.

Reports here suggested that after the goof-up on the reports of killing of big time criminal Chhota Shakeel and injuring of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Karachi earlier in the year, there could be another embarrassment for India over the reports of arrest of Abu Salem.

The authorities in Sharjah, with whom India signed an extradition treaty in October 1999 are helping confirm the reports to Indian agencies, sources in the MHA actually confirmed that the reports of arrests they had received were only through “friends”.

Apparently the CBI and the Mumbai police, where cases of terrorism, murder and extortion are registered against Abu Salem, are trying to match the fingerprint records of the reportedly arrested person with that of the wanted criminal, but have not succeeded. Sources said that there was no confirmation as far the matching of the finger prints was concerned.

Reports actually said that the Sharjah police had informed Indian authorities that the fingerprints of the arrested person do not match with those of Abu Salem. The police there had also apparently sought the fingerprint records of Abu Salem from the Maharashtra police to check on the identity of the arrested person.

Incidentally, Home Secretary Kamal Pande, at a briefing here this evening, refused to comment on the issue. On being specifically asked to confirm or deny the reports of the arrest, he said that his brief was to give details of the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) which is to be introduced in Parliament in the coming winter session.

Another high ranking MHA official also confirmed that there was still no official confirmation from Sharjah on the arrest of Abu Salem. He said what information the Indian authorities had received was only through friends.

The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi was also in touch with the Sharjah police on the arrest of Abu Salem but had not received any help.

Besides being involved in planning and executing the serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993, Abu Salem is also wanted for the killing of music industry’s one time king Gulshan Kumar and a large number of extortion cases. He is also accused of ordering the killing of Manisha Koirala’s secretary Ajit Dewani, who was also said to be a mediator between Abu Salem and number of Mumbai film stars.

Salem was also wanted for sending out threats to kill to Rakesh Roshan, J.P. Dutta, extortion threats to Amrish Puri and attempted murder of Rajiv Rai in July 1997.