Gulshan Kumar, also known as the “Cassette king”, was shot dead while coming out of a temple in Mumbai on August 12, 1997. Three assailants rained in 16 bullets while he was coming out of a temple at Jeet Nagar in Juhu. Gulshan Kumar died on the spot.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of Rauf Merchant, an aide of Dawood Ibrahim in the Gulshan Kumar murder case, the founder of music label T-series.
The acquittal of Gulshan Kumar’s business rival and owner of the production house Tips, Ramesh Taurani, was also upheld by the high court in today’s hearing.
Bombay High Court has upheld the sessions court verdict convicting Abdul Rauf alias Dawood Merchant for the offence of murder of T-series founder, Gulshan Kumar.
A Bench of Justices SS Jadhav and NR Borkar, however reversed Rauf's conviction for the offence of robbery.
— Prashant Umrao (@ippatel) July 1, 2021
Rauf was sentenced to a life term imprisonment in 2002 for the murder of the T-Series founder in 1997.
Taking note of his criminal background, the bench of Justice Sadhana S Jadhav and Justice N R Borkar clarified that Rauf Merchant will not be entitled to any leniency in his prison term. The court noted that after the killing, he had absconded and was arrested only in 2001.
Rauf Merchant had appealed against his conviction in 2002 during which he was charged under various Sections, including for murder, criminal conspiracy, robbery, and possession of arms.
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“Appeal filed by Rauf Merchant partly allowed. Conviction under 302 (murder) upheld, conviction under 392 (robbery) set aside. In view of past conduct no remission allowed,” Advocate Satish Mane Shinde, who represented both the accused, told NDTV.
Gulshan Kumar, also known as the “Cassette king”, was shot dead while coming out of a temple in Mumbai on August 12, 1997. Three assailants rained in 16 bullets while he was coming out of a temple at Jeet Nagar in Juhu. Gulshan Kumar died on the spot.
The Mumbai Police had named 26 people, including Music composer Nadeem Akhtar Saifee, in its 400-page charge sheet. Both Saifee and Ramesh Taurani, owners of Tips cassettes, were named as co-conspirators.
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