Mumbai: From a small-time leather trader in Mumbai's Jogeshwari suburb to a dreaded Don, Abu Salem's journey that began in Mumbai's alleys has been no less than extraordinary.
He landed in Mumbai from Uttar Pradesh and stayed in a one-room apartment in Jogeshwari for seven years with his uncle Mohammad Akhtar.
He reportedly accompanied Akhtar to his leather-goods shop everyday.
Predominantly a middle-class society, the fear of the dreaded gangster has many residents tightlipped about the whereabouts of Akhtar.
Abu Salem's first brush with the law was as a 24-year-old when he was booked for kidnapping a 17-year-old-girl Samira Jumani, who (whom he later married) later married him.
This was followed by a spate of murder and extortion charges including those of music baron Gulshan Kumar and Mumbai-based builder Pradeep Jain.
P P Suryavanshi, Police Inspector (Crime), Andheri, corroborates, "In 1994, Pradeep Jain murder case was registered and investigated and three persons have been convicted by Supreme Court. Later, his brother Sunil Jain lodged a complaint against Abu Salem in 1997 for threatening him on the phone."
Salem is said to have owned a leather goods shop at Arasa shopping centre in suburban Mumbai, 12 years ago.
But not many have any details of his small-time trade.
For now, the shopkeepers are making the most of the attention that comes with the Abu Salem tag.
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