Mumbai: Gangster Abu Salem had a “five-star” bathroom and ate home-cooked food at the high-security Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, Maharashtra's Minister of State for Home Ramesh Bagwe has said.
Salem was shifted out of the prison on Saturday after he was attacked by a rival gangster, but it's only now that the details of the "VIP" treatment he got inside are emerging. Bagwe on Monday informed the Assembly that there were shocking lapses in the jail. Salem got home-cooked food in violation of court orders and had a five-star bathroom in jail.
The 43-year-old was attacked during breakfast time on Saturday with a sharpened spoon inside the jail, allegedly by Mohammed Dossa, a member of absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim's gang. Salem had injuries on the face and neck.
Besides his alleged role in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case, Salem is also named as an accused in the killing of music baron Gulshan Kumar in 1997.
Salem, whose name once spelt dread for Bollywood, is also considered instrumental in unsuccessful attempts on the lives of filmmakers Rajeev Rai and Rakesh Roshan a few years ago.
He, along with his girlfriend and Bollywood starlet Monica Bedi, was extradited to India in November 2005 after an assurance by the former National Democratic Alliance government that the duo would not be awarded the death penalty.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil has said that the government will take action against those involved after an all party delegation visits Arthur Road Jail to inspect the security scenario.
