Gulshan Kumar`s killer to be tried in Bangladesh

Dhaka, May 30: Bollywood music baron Gulshan Kumar`s killer Adul Rauf Daud Merchant, who was nabbed Thursday from Brahmanbaria in the east of the country, will be tried for "posing a threat to Bangladesh`s security" and possessing a fake passport.Police say they want to probe if Merchant was merely hiding from Mumbai Police or was here on a "mission".

Earlier reports have said they suspect Merchant, 37, believed to be an associate of Indian underworld kingpin Daud Ibrahim Kaskar, may have a role in a 2004 case of arms haul here. The Chinese arms, shipped in clandestinely, were meant for the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), a militant outfit of northeastern India operating partly from Bangladeshi territory. The Detective Branch (DB) of the police Friday brought Merchant and his two accomplices to Dhaka for interrogation, The Daily Star said Saturday. A professional sharp-shooter, Merchant was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2002 for killing music baron Gulshan Kumar. He escaped during a furlough from jail. Media reports said it was a contract killing carried out after Kumar refused to pay extortion money to the underworld. Merchant was reportedly in hiding for over a month during which period he acquired a Bangladeshi passport under the name of Samir Patel. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DB) Monirul Islam told The Daily Star: "He has been accused of intrusion, possessing fake passports and posing security threats to the country." IANS