Mumbai police may need Portuguese nod to prosecute Salem

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November 15, 2005 01:25 IST

Mumbai police will need approval of the Portugal government in case it wishes to prosecute extradited gangster Abu Salem in 28 cases where he was chargesheeted.

"There are a total of 30 cases booked against Salem in Mumbai, of which two have been incorporated and approved in the eight cases against which Portugal agreed to extradite Salem," sources said Monday.

While Mumbai police can seek custody of Salem for the two cases (namely Ajit Dewani and Pradip Jain murder cases) after the Central Bureau of Investigation completes its probe, for the rest it will have to either seek Portugal government's approval or drop them, the sources said.

"We want to take action against Salem in as many cases as possible," Mumbai police commissioner A N Roy told a TV channel in Mumbai. A legal opinion was being taken on this issue, he said.

Roy said that for the two cases approved for extradition, two special teams have been formed, who will probe and question Salem later on.

Ajit Dewani, secretary of film stars Manisha Koirala and Aftab Shivdasani was shot dead allegedly by Salem men over an extortion feud in 2001, while real estate developer Pradip Jain in 1997.

Mumbai police intends to prosecute Salem for some other high profile cases, namely the Gulshan Kumar murder case of 1997, the murder attempts on producers Rajiv Rai and Rakesh Roshan, and extortion threats to several film personalities, sources said.

Abu Salem extradition: Complete coverage

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