Delhi Police today chargesheeted five associates of Dubai-based underworld don Abu Salem,
including a woman, for entering into a criminal conspiracy to run an organised crime syndicate for extorting money from businessmen in and around capital at the instance of the don.
The chargesheet filed in the court of Special Judge Prem Kumar named Pawan Kumar Mittal alias Raja Bhai, Sajjan Soni alias Babu Bhai, Majid Khan alias Raju Bhai, Mohd Ashraf alias Babloo and Salem's woman associate Chanchal Mehta as members of the organised crime syndicate of Salem.
The accused have been booked under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) along with several provisions of Indian Penal Code for entering into criminal conspiracy with the don to extort money by threatening a complainant. Salem, against whom police has intiated proceedings to declare him as proclaimed offender in the case, has been named in column II of the chargesheet.
The accused were arrested in May following a complaint filed by Delhi-based contractor Ashok Gupta alleging that the don and his associates were threatening and demanding Rs 5 crore from him.
The chargesheet said "there is sufficient evidence against the accused persons on record of the case file which proves their close association, conspiracy and the crime syndicate run by accused Abu Salem in an organised manner with their help for the purpose of extortion from the complainant and other persons".
Police said so far from the investigations carried out on the basis of complaint, mobile phone printouts, recorded conversation of accused, recoveries made, statements of witnesses and from disclosure statements of the accused, "there is sufficient evidence on record to prosecute the accused".
The chargesheet which is primarily based on the evidence collected through the interception of messages on the telephone numbers traced by the police during the probe of the complaint said, the five accused were assigned different task by Salem. Police claimed there were other businessmen on the hit list of the don.
Mittal and Soni, residents of Chandni Chowk area in capital were providing information about the financial status of the contractor and were pressing Salem to expedite the extortion from the complainant, the chargesheet said. Police said the duo besides providing logistic support and aiding the shooters of Salem in Delhi passed on the information about another businessman Manoj Jain to the don on his international numbers through cellular phone.
The chargesheet alleged that Majid Khan was an active member of the crime syndicate and was aiding Salem's shooter Mohd Ashraf. Police said Khan, who was running an audio-cassette manufacturing firm in partnership with another accused Chancha Mehta had introduced her to Salem over telephone.
Mehta had sought the don's help to threaten and get her money recovered from several businessmen in Delhi who owed it to her late husband and were reluctant to pay back.
Khan was instrumental in showing the houses of businessmen including those of Ramesh Suri and Surender Khanna, alleged debtors of Mehta, to Ahraf to carry out shooting if required. Police claimed that Salem who has been declared as proclaimed offender in the Mumbai blast case, had instructed Ashraf to arrange local criminals in Delhi with weapons to carry out his plans of extorting money. On don's instruction, Ashraf had included in the racket a few criminals including Jitender alias Jeetu and Imam Ali who could not be arrested, police said. The chargesheet said the samples of recorded voice of Salem procured from the Mumbai Police and his intercepted voice during the investigation of the case had been deposited with the Central Forensic Science Laboratory for comparison.
