Gangster Abu Salem shot at twice in jail, Dawood takes credit

Mumbai: Accused in the 1993 serial blasts and other cases, gangster Abu Salem was shot at twice in the Navi Mumbai jail in which he is presently lodged by a member of a rival gang, but managed to escape with a minor injury. According to a Times of India report, a member of another organised syndicate - the Bharat Nepali gang - was involved in the attack and had managed to smuggle in a country made firearm and during a heated argument pulled it out and shot at Salem twice. The Times also quoted an exclusive phone conversation with Dawood Ibrahim’s lieutenant that said they had ordered the hit. [caption id=“attachment_912541” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Salem was extradited from Portugal. AFP[/caption] Salem, who originally was part of Dawood’s gang only to form his own gang later, reportedly sustained a minor injury to a finger during the shooting. The second shot missed him. The inmate involved has been identified as Devendra Jagtap, who according to a Hindustan Times report was reportedly earlier had an argument with Salem over protection money they would collect from inmates. While some reports suggested that Jagtap had managed to procure the gun during a court hearing outside the jail, others stated that he may have managed to acquire it some time back and had kept it hidden. Jagtap is lodged in the Taloja jail for his involvement in the fatal shooting of advocate Shahid Azmi in 2010. This is the second attack on Abu Salem since he was deported from Portugal in 2005. In 2010, Salem was attacked by some inmates in the Arthur Road jail with a steel spoon following which he was shifted to the Taloja jail as a security measure. with inputs from agencies