Abu Salem

Abu Salem stands among the most dreaded figures in the annals of Mumbai crime history, a gangster whose double life as a Dubai businessman and a wanted underworld operative collapsed in a Lisbon airport handover that stunned even the seasoned officers receiving him. His story in Mafia Queens of Mumbai is told not from his own perspective but through the testimony of Monica Bedi, the actress who loved him, fled with him, and was remade by his lies into a mobster's moll. Salem's significance lies in how completely he concealed his criminal identity from the woman closest to him, and in how his exposure set in motion a chain of arrests, extradition, and media spectacle that would define both their fates.

Identity and Double Life

To Monica Bedi, the man she knew was Arsalan, a businessman from Dubai with underworld connections. When he finally revealed the truth, he told her that his real name was Abu Salem and that he was not a businessman at all but a gangster. The revelation came only after he had asked her to leave Mumbai immediately, fearing that the police would detain her under some law once they learned of her relationship with him. Bedi was stunned; even if he had introduced himself as Abu Salem earlier, she would have had no clue, for she had only heard about Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel and had never heard of Abu Salem. The name carried enormous weight in the criminal world, however. Salem was a former aide of Dawood Ibrahim, wanted in connection with the killings of music baron Gulshan Kumar, Bollywood actress Manish Koirala's secretary Ajit Dewani, builder Omprakash Kukreja, and in more than fifty other cases. The scale of his crimes placed him among the most dangerous personalities of the Mumbai underworld, a world built on smuggling networks that connected the city to Dubai, Nepal, and the Gulf.

The Relationship with Monica Bedi

Bedi's relationship with Salem was built on a foundation of lies, yet she chose to remain with him even after learning the truth. She wondered if their bond existed anymore, since it was based on deception, but she also knew that Salem had always been nice to her and that she had never seen his other side. She invariably saw him as a kind-hearted person who helped people. Her relationship with him was something very personal and had nothing to do with his association with the mafia; she had never even met anyone else from the mafia, for he had never introduced her to anybody. Even after all the lies, she realised she still loved him, and so, accepting her fate, she decided to give their relationship a chance. The most painful revelation came when Salem told her that he was already married to Samira Jumani and had a child with her, adding, 'But I only love you and want to start my life afresh with you.' Bedi cried that day as she had probably never cried in her life, understanding that fate had turned her into nothing more than a mobster's moll.

Flight and Arrest

Salem and Bedi escaped from Dubai to the United States just days after the Indian police had learned of her association with him. In Dubai, she discovered that the CBI had seized her apartment in Mumbai and frozen all her bank accounts, leaving her escape routes blocked except for the one that led to Salem. The couple witnessed the traumatic aftermath of the September 11 attacks as anxious south Asian Muslims in America, caught between the growing anti-terror sentiment and their own precarious status as fugitives. Their flight ended in Lisbon, where the police convoy cut across the runway at the airport, its blaring sirens not raising even one eyebrow amidst the din. The gun-toting guards accompanying the convoy gave the impression of it being a mobile fortress. Officers of the Policia Judicia escorted a thirty-six-year-old man dressed in a black T-shirt and track pants, who had a stooping gait and seemed to be smiling nervously. Deputy superintendent of police, Special Task Force, CBI Devendra Pardesi couldn't believe his eyes; the man the Portuguese police were handing over just didn't fit the bill of one of Mumbai's most dreaded gangsters.

Trial and Imprisonment

In 2003, a Portuguese court sentenced Salem to three years for entering Portugal on forged documents, two years for causing injury to a cop and resisting his arrest, and one year for perjury. Bedi received two years for entering the country on forged documents. The couple were held in different cells, and on 20 November 2002, their second wedding anniversary, Bedi wrote Salem a very special letter, tears rolling down her cheeks as she wrote, saddened that they were not in each other's arms that day but instead in different cells. The Indian government was informed of their arrest and talks of extradition began. Bedi's brother and father hurriedly travelled to Lisbon in the hope of securing her release, but they soon realised that it would be years before they would see her step out from prison. During her imprisonment, Bedi found solace in Christianity, drawn to the teachings of the Bible after a nun advised her to turn to the faith. She chose not to tell Salem about her inclination, for he was a practising Muslim who had asked her to take up his religion for his sake, and she did not want to hurt his sentiments. Her letters to him reduced considerably and they slowly drifted apart; the Bible had given her life a new direction.

Aftermath and Media Spectacle

After her release, Bedi returned to Mumbai and rented a modest flat at Mulund, determined to gain all that she had lost. She gave many interviews to the media to garner public sympathy, but a year passed and she was still living a life of obscurity. In August 2008, she joined Bigg Boss 2, the Indian version of Big Brother, and within a few episodes managed to woo the other fourteen contestants and the audience. In one episode she broke down and said she needed the prize money because she was leading a hand-to-mouth existence, explaining that nobody would give her a house on rent because people were scared of her. Her performance won the heart of millions, including Congress Member of Parliament Sanjay Nirupam, who promised to give her an apartment in the upmarket residential colony of Lokhandwala in Andheri. Stories of her becoming romantically involved with another notorious participant, Rahul Mahajan, a self-proclaimed Casanova, started doing the rounds, with his indirect proposal of marriage and request to kiss her all caught on camera. Salem's legacy, meanwhile, remained that of a man whose crimes were so extensive that even the officer who received him in Lisbon found the reality of his appearance unreal, a reminder that the most feared gangsters often look nothing like their reputations.