Gangster Abu Salem was shot at by another gangster inside a prison near here on Thursday. He was rushed to the MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai, where he is said to be out of danger.
According to police sources, an underworld criminal, identified as Devendra Jagtap alias JD, opened one shot at Salem, injuring his hand. The police doubt rivalry as the cause for the attack, which occurred at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai.
Police officials are probing how the firearm was smuggled into the prison. Jail authorities have handed over Jagtap to the police.
This is the second attack on Salem in jail. In 2010, he was attacked by Mustafa Dossa in the Arthur Road jail.
Jagtap was in the Chotta Rajan gang but later shifted his allegiance to Bharat Nepali, after whose death he joined the Vijay Shetty gang. Jagtap is the main accused in the killing of lawyer Shahid Azmi in Mumbai in 2010 who used to represent many involved in terror cases.
Salem is an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blast.