In a related development, Mumbai police sought a production warrant against Salem in Pradeep Jain murder case. The warrant would be served on the gangster in central prison where he has been placed in judicial custody.
Thereafter, Salem would be produced before another designated Judge P V Bavkar in the Pradeep Jain murder case, police said. Salem is charged with conspiring the murder of Pradeep Jain, a real estate developer in 1997. The designated judge P D Kode directed the court staff to keep the remand report, Salem's confession and the case diaries sealed since the contents of these documents were "sensitive, secret and under investigation."
Earlier, producing Salem before TADA court, CBI said Salem had confessed to his role in the bomb blast and for the time being they did not want his custody as they wanted to work on the clues that had come out during interrogation. The CBI, however, said it reserved its right to take him in its custody in future whenever it was necessary for the purpose of further investigation. Salem had been placed earlier in CBI custody soon after his arrest on November 11 in the serial bomb blast case.
Perusing case diaries and remand papers of extradited gangster Abu Salem, a designated TADA court on Wednesday ordered that he may be kept in a high security cell in central prison at Arthur road at a distance of about 15 feet from others.
The order was passed by judge P D Kode who observed that "from the remand papers it is apparent that Salem has threat to his life from certain quarters." Salem, who is facing charges of distributing arms to co-accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case, also requested the court to ensure his safety in prison and urged it to allow his lawyers to meet him every day in jail as he apprehended torture by Mumbai police who wanted to seek his custody in Pradeep Jain murder case. Accordingly, the court allowed his lawyers Ashok Sarogi, O A Siddiqui and Rashid Ansari to meet Salem in prison for 15 minutes daily between 8 AM and 9 AM.
The court also allowed Salem's plea for home food and bedding on condition that the food may be provided only by his brother Abdul Lais after undergoing security drill and verification process. However, lawyers sought time saying Salem's brother was not in town. Until then, Salem would take food from the prison canteen, the court ruled. The court also passed an order saying that Salem was in judicial custody and any other investigating agency seeking to take his custody should take its permission.
Mumbai police, who on Wednesday obtained production warrant against Salem in Pradeep Jain murder case would on Thursday move the TADA court to seek Salem's custody in that case. Salem is charged with conspiring to murder real estate developer Pradeep Jain in 1997.
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