Mumbai: Monica Bedi was once a very popular Hindi film actress. She appeared in Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat and Jodi No.1 (both 2001). She also acted in a few TV shows.
Monica was also seen in Bigg Boss 2.
Her career seemed to have taken off but the rumoured association with India’s underworld got her into a world of trouble.
Monica’s name was associated with underworld don Abu Salem. Salem was found guilty in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case. The love story of Salem and Monica was very much discussed by the major tabloids of that time. Let us know some exciting facts about the love story of Monika, who has now made a distance from films, and Salem, who is in jail.
In an interview Monica spoke openly about herself and Abu’s love story. According to Monica, she had heard the names of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel but was not aware of the name Abu Salem. In 1998, Monica first came in contact with Salem over phone. Monica was in Dubai and she got an offer to do a stage show in the city over a phone call.
According to her interview with Showtime, she got a call from a guy in Dubai asking her to perform in his show. After a few phone calls, she started talking to him, without knowing that she was actually talking to the underworld don Abu Salem. He introduced himself as Arsalan Ali to her.
When Salem invited her for the third time, she insisted on him to come to Mumbai, but he refused, making one excuse or the other. It was during her third visit to Dubai that he revealed his true identity. He said that he wanted to change and he was in love with her.
In September 2002, Monica and Salem were arrested and served jail sentence in Portugal for entering the country on forged documents. In 2006, an Indian Court convicted Monica for procuring a passport on a fictitious name. In November 2010, the Supreme Court of India upheld her conviction but reduced the jail term to the period that she had already served.
IANS