A Central Bureau of Investigation officer is leaving for Lisbon on Friday to file a formal extradition request for underworld don Abu Salem with the Portuguese authorities.

In keeping with Portuguese laws, India [ Images ] has assured Portugal that Salem, wanted in the 1993 Mumbai [ Images ] serial blasts case among others, will not be awarded the death penalty, CBI Director P C Sharma told reporters in Delhi [ Images ].

The gangster is in custody in Portugal for staying in Lisbon on the basis of forged documents.