'If Nadeem were innocent, he would not have evaded arrest'

“It will take us at least a month to arrest Nadeem if he does not come down to Bombay on his own,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (detection) L R Rao told Rediff On The NeT. Rao is part of the team investigating the murder of music cassette king Gulshan Kumar.

“Even after the extradition orders are issued on September 24, the Bombay police will still have to produce documentary proof of Nadeem’s guilt in the court in London. Only then will the court order his arrest,” ACP Rao said.

India and Britain signed an extradition treaty with the United Kingdom in 1992. However, extradition requests have to clear several British procedures that often delays the process.

Interestingly, the Bombay police have, to date, no intention of sending a team to London. On September 1, Bombay Police Commissioner Ronald Hyacinth Mendonca announced that Nadeem had ordered the 'hit' on Gulshan Kumar. Nadeem, who has been in London for the past eight weeks, shows no signs of returning to Bombay.

"There is no way,” added ACP Rao, “that the court will give us permission for his immediate arrest."

When reminded about the Iqbal Mirchi case -- where he was released on bail by a London court after being charged with ordering a 'hit' in Bombay -- Joint Commissioner of Police R S Sharma, who is heading the investigation team, said, "You cannot compare any two cases. All criminal cases have own merits and demerits."

Rao admits there was no direct evidence in the Mirchi case, which is why he is still roaming free in London. “In Nadeem’s case,” he said, “our evidence is so strong that we will have no problems arresting him.”

Meanwhile, the Bombay police have arrested Saabir Ali, a travel agent. The police claim Ali, who had arranged return tickets to Dubai for Javed Abdul Wahid Khan and Rafique Ahmed Ansari (members of the Abu Salem gang who are accused in the Gulshan Kumar case), has admitted his crime. He has been remanded to police custody till September 26.

So far, 200 people, including actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Pooja Bhatt, Chunky Pandey and Aditya Panscholi, have been questioned by the police. All of them are said to have attended the Nadeem-Shravan show at Dubai on June 12.

Nadeem, who was arrested by Scotland Yard on September 17, has been released on bail. His next hearing is scheduled for September 24. The composer claims he is in London because his wife had a miscarriage.

According to reliable sources, Mendonca will soon meet Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray who claimed last week that he knows three important people are involved in the murder. As time passes, the chances of arresting Nadeem appear dimmer. “If he were innocent,” says JCP Sharma, “he would not have evaded arrest.”

The Nadeem interview