Mumbai: Hours after the scuffle in Arthur Road jail on Saturday morning, the underworld was abuzz with the theory that the attack could have been orchestrated by Abu Salem himself for his safe return to Portugal.
Salem was deported from a jail in Lisbon to Mumbai in 2005 only after the Government of India gave an assurance that his life would be safe in the country.
"An attack on Salem could mean violation of the terms of undertaking given by the Central Bureau of Investigation on behalf of the government. It is very likely that Salem could apply to be transferred to a prison in Portugal," said a CBI officer.
Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Himanshu Roy said that the Crime Branch was investigating the attack on Salem by inmate Mustafa Dossa (60) from all possible angles.
Salem, a key accused in the 1993 serial blasts case, was attacked by Dossa and his associate with a sharp spoon outside their barrack on Saturday.
What has raised suspicion among the underworld is the fact that both Salem and Dossa have a common enemy in Dawood Ibrahim and the two have been known to share a good rapport in recent years.
Sources say that Salem and Dossa have been feeling stifled at Arthur Road jail after 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab was shifted there in late 2008, thereby converting the jail into a fortress. This apparently left them with very little room to run their syndicates openly.
The Crime Branch and jail officials too had turned the heat on the gangsters and were keeping tabs on their frequency of visits to government hospitals.
After the incident, Salem has been shifted to the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai, while Dossa has been transferred to the Thane Central Prison, senior jail officials said.
Salem was extradited from Portugal in 2005 and is facing trial in nine cases, including two murders. Dossa, alleged to be a close aide of Dawood, was deported from Dubai in March 2003 and is also facing trial in the 1993 blasts case. Dossa is accused of having supervised the landing of weapons and explosives in Raigad district prior to the explosions on March 12, 1993.
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