Prahaar: Ujjwal Nikam not only prosecuted Ajmal Kasab, he put Sanjay Dutt behind bars
Rajkummar Rao (L) plays Ujjwal Nikam (R) in Prahaar. (Photo: Maddock Films/YouTube, Express Archives)
Rajkummar Rao is all set to play the role of Ujjwal Nikam in his upcoming film Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam, which releases on October 16. The film primarily focuses on Nikam’s work as a public prosecutor representing the Maharashtra government in the trial of Ajmal Kasab, who was the only surviving terrorist responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. And while the film focuses only on this chapter of Nikam’s life, he has been an important figure in the justice system, as he has been the prosecutor for many high-profile cases.
1993 Bombay blast case, Sanjay Dutt’s incarceration
Nikam was the public prosecutor in the Bombay 1993 bomb blast case, representing the Maharashtra government, and was responsible for getting actor Sanjay Dutt incarcerated under the Arms Act, among many other accused. Nikam has previously spoken about the case in detail and shared how Dutt was sentenced in court.
In an earlier chat with The Lallantop, Nikam said that Dutt was “trembling with fear” as the judgement was being read. Since Dutt was a popular actor when he was accused in the Arms Act for holding weapons in his house illegally when the blasts took place, and Nikam felt that his fans held the lawyer responsible “every time Sanjay Dutt cried.” “He engaged the very best legal luminaries of this country while I was the prosecutor. Ultimately, the court agreed with me and sentenced him to seven years in prison,” Nikam recalled and mentioned that Dutt was “trembling” when the judgment was delivered.
He recalled, “When the judgment was delivered, he was trembling. He kept saying, ‘No sir, I didn’t do anything wrong, sir. I will come back.’ He was virtually shaking. I was standing nearby and told him, ‘Sanju, the media is watching, please stand straight.’ Then I asked the police to take him away. Had I not motivated him at that moment, the media would have made me the villain. Everyone was against me.”
1997 Gulshan Kumar murder case, Nadeem Saifi was the ‘mastermind’
Ujjwal Nikam was also the prosecutor for the Gulshan Kumar murder case, which happened in 1997. The founder of T-Series was shot on the streets of Mumbai in broad daylight at a time when Bollywood was under constant threat from the underworld. Nikam believed that Nadeem Saifi, of the music composer duo Nadeem-Shravan, was the “mastermind” of the conspiracy to kill Gulshan Kumar.
In a chat with Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, Nikam said that Nadeem had left the country because he was indeed involved in the murder. “Yes, he was. That’s why he is not coming back. He is not facing the trial. Why else would he not face the trial?” Nadeem lived in the UK for many years and is now living in Dubai. He said that the police was convinced about Nadeem’s role in the murder conspiracy. “Police believe it was Nadeem. He conspired. Police believe that the conspiracy to murder was done on Nadeem’s orders and the conspiracy happened in Dubai,” he said.
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2006 murder of Pramod Mahajan
Ujjwal Nikam was also the prosecutor in the 2006 trial of Pramod Mahajan’s murder. Pramod was one of the key political figures of the BJP in Maharashtra at the time. His death came a shock to the nation, especially since he was a popular politician and also because it was his brother Pravin who was accused of the murder. Pravin was convicted and imprisoned for life in 2007.
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