The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of Abdul Rauf Merchant in the murder case of Gulshan Kumar, founder of T-series. Abdul Rauf Merchant, an aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, was sentenced to a life term imprisonment in 2002 for the murder of the music mogul in 1997.
Taking note of Abdul Rauf's criminal background, the bench of Justice Sadhana S Jadhav and Justice N R Borkar clarified that he will not be entitled to any remission in his prison term.
The high court, meanwhile, upheld the acquittal of Gulshan Kumar's business rival, Ramesh Taurani.
Gulshan Kumar was shot dead while coming out of a temple in Mumbai on August 12, 1997. Three assailants rained in 16 bullets while he was coming out of a temple at Jeet Nagar in Juhu. Gulshan Kumar died on the spot.
The Mumbai police had named 26 people, including Music composer Nadeem Akhtar Saifee, in its 400-page charge sheet. Both Saifee and Ramesh Taurani, owner of Tips cassettes, were named as co-conspirators.
While Taurani was arrested for abetting his murder, Nadeem Akhtar Saifee managed to evade arrest and fled to the United Kingdom.
