Salem greets prospective voters with Diwali, Eid posters

Extradited underworld don Abu Salem has virtually kicked-off his election campaign as hundreds of posters with his photograph appeared on walls in the Mubarakpur area in Azamgarh, greeting people on Diwali and Eid and purportedly seeking support for his election.

The posters carried Urdu slogans, which said, "I have the heart of a lion and can change the course of a storm if you extend me support."

However, the posters did not mention the printers' or publishers' names, police sources said on Monday. The posters, which virtually announced his candidature, were pasted at night, making it difficult to identify the people behind the act, district police chief Naveen Arora told PTI.

The sub-divisional magistrate and circle officer of the town were investigating the matter, Arora said. Abu Salem, a former close aide of absconding don Dawood Ibrahim, was extradited from Portugal in November and has been booked in eight cases, including the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

His counsel Ashok Sarogi had declared that Salem would contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections from Mubarakpur as an independent.

Salem's nephew Nafees told PTI that his uncle would receive good support from the area if he contests the elections. A native of Sari Mir area of the district, Salem migrated to Mumbai in the early 1990s.