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Shah Rukh, Panscholi quizzed in Gulshan Kumar case

Nadeem with Shravan Kumar Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and actor Aditya Panscholi were questioned by the Bombay police in connection with the Gulshan Kumar murder case, United News of India reported on Wednesday.

Bombay's Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjit Singh Sharma questioned both stars at the Crime Branch office in the city police headquarters complex near Crawford Market. Khan and Panscholi, the JCP said, were grilled in connection with a musical programme organised by Vicky Goswami, allegedly a drug trafficker in Dubai, on June 12.

The police alleged on Monday that the conspiracy to kill music mogul Gulshan Kumar was hatched in Dubai a couple of days after the concert by composer Nadeem along with Anees Ibrahim Kaskar, the younger brother of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.

Sharma told reporters that the police had information that Panscholi had travelled to Dubai for the show. The actor, however, claimed he was invited to the event, but did not go as he was unwell. Khan, the police officer added, admitted travelling to Dubai, but denied participating in the programme.

The JCP, who is in charge of all criminal investigations in the city, disclosed that the police had obtained some information from Khan and other Bollywood personalities who attended the function. Two or three others, Sharma added, would be questioned in this connection shortly.

Nadeem, Sharma said, had assured the police that he would return to India on Wednesday. "If he does not turn up, Interpol has already been alerted for his deportation," the police officer said.

Suparn Verma adds:

There was no motive for Nadeem (of the Nadeem-Shravan duo) to kill Gulshan Kumar.

For, the night before he was murdered, Kumar had patched up his fight with the duo and decided to start working with them again, according to Shravan.

"We had got back together," Shravan told Rediff On The NeT in a telephone conversation on Wednesday afternoon. "On July 11 night, Gulshanji had told Maheshji (Mahesh Bhatt) and lyricist Sameer that the minute Nadeem returned from London (where his wife has just suffered a miscarriage) we would start working together again."

Nadeem, Shravan believes, could not -- would not -- have done it. "He is not that kind of a guy. Nadeem bhai is a businessman, but he is also lovable. Gulshanji brought us into the industry. We owe a lot to him," Shravan said, "Yes, we have had our tiffs with him. But that doesn't mean that one guy would go and kill him."

"This is a trap," Shravan went on, "I don't know who is involved -- the police, the ministers... See, Nadeembhai gave some interviews where he spoke his heart out. He said he was angry at Gulshanji because he was not happy about the way his album was promoted. But that was because he had a clear heart."

But why should Nadeem be framed? Who had a knife in him?

Shravan doesn't have a clue. "I don't think he had enemies. As far as I knew, he had very nice relations with everyone," he said.

He, however, confessed that he too have had altercations with Nadeem. "When two creative people come together, there is bound to be friction," he justified, "There is bound to be differences of opinion."

But he was confident that the allegation would not harm their career at all. "We have a lot of goodwill in the market," he said, "We are still doing music for 10 to 12 films. Nadeembhai will be back soon, and we will prove him innocent. We will not give up until then."

Shravan confirmed that Nadeem would be in Bombay on Thursday. "He was supposed to come on Tuesday but his wife had a miscarriage, his baby girl died," he said, "He is in a highly disturbed state. If the doctors allow his wife to leave tomorrow, he will definitely come."

EARLIER REPORT/FEATURES:
'A man of music cannot be a murderer'
The Twilight Zone
Music director Nadeem accused of killing Gulshan Kumar
Gulshan Kumar killed
Gulshan!



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