After he stumbled upon the names of top business barons in the gutka case, the encounter specialist was removed from the case and asked to surrender his rifle

ARMED: Vijay Salaskar was issued the AK-47 assault rifle in 1993 following a threat to his life. file pic

Had the AK-47 assault rifle issued to Vijay Salaskar not been withdrawn, it could have saved the encounter specialist's life on November 26. Salaskar, along with ATS chief Hemant Karkare and Additional CP Ashok Kamte were gunned down in an ambush by Mohammed Ajmal Qasam and his associate.

The rifle was issued to Salaskar in 1993, following an Intelligence Bureau report indicating a threat to his life. It was later withdrawn in 2005. Sources indicate that Salaskar was investigating the Gutka case in 2005, and had stumbled upon the involvement of many top business barons in the case. Not only was he removed from the case, but was also asked to surrender his AK 47 rifle. He was shunted to the anti-robbery squad.

In addition, the file linking the gutka barons to the underworld gangs in Karachi has also gone missing from Salaskar's cabinet. The file is not included in the panchnama, where all his belongings were handed over to the relatives. Commissioner of Police Hasan Gafoor told MiD DAY that investigations into the gutka case will not be effected even after Salaskar's demise. "A system is in place to carry on the probe," Gafoor pointed out.

Gutka case

While investigating the case, Salaskar discovered that members of the gutka mafia had visited Dawood in Karachi to settle a financial dispute of around Rs 11 crore in 2000. The matter came to the fore with the arrest of Jamruddin alias Jumbo in late 2003. The suspect and his associates were allegedly involved in smuggling packing machines for manufacturing gutka in Pakistan.

Jumbo disclosed the name of Dawood's relative Salim Ibrahim in the first information report. Dubai-based Hamid Antulay, Salim Chiplun and Salim Sauda were also named as co-accused in the case. Rasiklal Dhariwal of Manikchand Group and J M Joshi of Goa Gutka were among the list of suspects questioned by CBI. Joshi's key employee Biju George alias Babu was also named in the case.

Qasab may spend  4 months in custody

LeT terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Qasab may have to spend the next four months with crime branch sleuths. An investigator said they are yet to interrogate Qasab in connection with 10 other FIRs filed against him. "Though all the cases are clubbed together, it will take a while to gather all the details before presenting a water-tight case before the prosecution," said an investigating officer. Officials are also matching Qasab's statements with the information given by Sabahuddin Ahmed and Fahim Ansari.

It is very likely that Qasab will be handed over to the central intelligence agencies once the Mumbai police complete their investigation. He may be moved to Tihar jail, where most high-profile prisoners are housed.