Mumbai, June 18
Nearly four years after audio king Gulshan Kumar was gunned down, his murder trial commenced today amidst tight security in a sessions court here with an eyewitness identifying two persons as having allegedly committed the
crime.
Deposing before the Additional Sessions Judge, Mr M.L. Tahilyani, Mr Ramchandra Lavangare, a key prosecution witness, pointed at Abdul Rashid Daud and Abdul Rauf Daud Merchant, seated in the dock along with other
accused.
The judge asked both the accused to stand up and the witness promptly said, “Yes, these two had opened fire at the victim”.
The witness told special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam during the examination-in-chief that three assailants had gunned down Gulshan Kumar among whom were Abdul Rashid and Abdul
Rauf.
The third assailant, he said, was not present in the court. According to prosecution, he was Anil Sharma, an absconding
accused.
The witness narrated the sequence of events leading to the murder of the audio king on August 12, 1997, at Jeet Nagar outside a Shiva temple in suburban Juhu where Gulshan Kumar had come to offer prayers at 10
am.
The witness said he was a plumber by profession and also the president of the mandal which had constructed the temple. Gulshan Kumar used to frequent the temple almost every
day.
On the fateful day, Gulshan Kumar came in his car and went inside the temple to offer prayers to the deity, the witness told the court. Fifteen minutes later he returned with his driver, Rooplal, trailing behind.
The witness said he was just 10 feet away from Gulshan Kumar when he saw a person suddenly appearing on the scene and pointing a pistol at the victim. To a question, he said the accused was not present before the court (hinting that he was the absconding accused Anil
Sharma).
The assailant fired at Gulshan Kumar from behind. He fell and got up to face the killer. Suddenly, another person came from a different direction and he too fired at Gulshan Kumar. The victim fell and got up again for the third time when he was attacked by yet another
assailant.
Finally, he collapsed on the ground and the assailants fired at Gulshan Kumar’s driver Rooplal who tried to reach his master. He was injured in the
thigh.
“They fired at me also but the bullet went through my legs and I escaped unhurt”, the witness said, adding that he hid behind a tree. He then saw two assassins making good their escape from the adjacent lane of “Dhoop Chhaon” cooperative housing society where Gulshan Kumar had parked his car. He was not able to spot the third
assailant.
After the assailants escaped, the witness said, he went near Gulshan Kumar and saw that he was seriously injured.
PTI
