Extradited gangster Abu Salem has confessed his role in the murder of Ajit Dewani, former secretary to Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala.
Complete Coverage: Abu Salem Extradited
Police sources said on Sunday that Salem made the statement before a magistrate and crime branch sleuths on Saturday, which shall be sent to the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court in a sealed cover on February 13.
This is the third case in which Salem has confessed his role, the first being the 1993 bomb blast case and the second in Pradeep Jain murder case. So far, he has not retracted his confessions but has alleged police torture before a MCOCA court.
Salem is reported to have disclosed to the magistrate names of all those Bollywood personalities from whom he had extorted money, the sources said.
The gangster also reportedly talked about his association with Shah Alam, who has been arrested in this case for helping Salem in extorting money from the victims in Bollywood, they added.
Dewani was murdered in 2002 allegedly on instructions from Salem. The alleged killers have been arrested and are facing trial. Eleven witnesses have already deposed before the court in the case.
Ajit Dewani murder case is one of the two cases probed by crime branch on the basis of which Salem was extradited from Portugal. The other was the Pradeep Jain murder case.
Salem's confession in the two cases probed by Mumbai police and the third case by Central Bureau of Investigation assumes significance as he reportedly toed the line of the prosecution, the sources said.
The gangster will be produced before separate TADA courts, hearing the 1993 bomb blast case and Pradeep Jain murder case, on February 15. He is also likely to make a fresh application before a MCOCA court alleging police torture in the Ajit Dewani case, according to his lawyer Ashok Sarogi.