Underworld don Abu Salem was on Tuesday remanded to seven days' police custody by a city court to facilitate his custodial interrogation in the case.
NEW DELHI: Underworld don Abu Salem, who was brought here from Mumbai in connection with an extortion case, was on Tuesday remanded to seven days' police custody by a city court to facilitate his custodial interrogation in the case.
"I grant seven days police custody for Salem till May 28," Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Seema Maini said, handing him over to the Special Cell of Delhi Police for quizzing him into the case of alleged extortion of a south Delhi-based businessman six years ago.
The court also allowed recording of Salem's voice samples to compare it with the recorded threat calls allegedly made by the gangster to Rajat Nagrath, owner of a communication firm based in East of Kailash here.
To the relief of the gangster, who was extradited from Portugal in November 2005, the court allowed him legal assistance ordering that he can meet his advocates twice during the remand period on May 24 and May 26 for 30 minutes on each day.
Salem, who has to face trial in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast case, was brought to the capital yesterday in pursuance of the production warrant issued by the Delhi court against him on April 17.
Salem had allegedly demanded Rs one crore from Nagrath, owner of Allied Communications, six years ago. Three other co-accused-- Ishtiyaq, Sabiq and C P Rai-- currently lodged in a Bhopal jail, were arrested by the police in September, 2000.
Earlier, pressing for his police remand, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikas Singh had submitted before the court that his custodial interrogation was necessary to carry out further investigation in the case.
"This was not the first matter seeking Salem's police remand and he has been in the custody of the police several times before as well," ASG argued.
Countering the police argument, Ashok Saraogi, counsel for Salem, said that he had moved the Supreme Court against his police custody and the matter was still pending with it.
"Salem was brought here under an extradition treaty with Portugal on the condition that he was being sent for trial and not for any further inquiry or investigation in the named cases," Saraogi said, opposing his police remand.
He further said that Salem's custodial interrogation would flout the conditions in the treaty and the police could not be allowed to create and gather further evidence against him by interrogating him in its custody.
Replying to this, the ASG asked Salem's counsel to point out the condition that was being violated in case of his custodial interrogation and pleaded the court to give "wider interpretation" to the term "trial".
He also said that it was essential to carry the investigation further from the point it was left after Salem had an escape from the country.
The ASG contended that no chargesheet could be filed in the case as Salem could not be secured for interrogation by the police and his examination was necessary for filing the same.
The court accepted the ASG's arguments and allowed Salem's custodial interrogation in the case, who was produced before it after issuing several warrants against him.
The court also directed the police to take him to a city hospital for a check-up after the hearing and further to provide him medical aid during his custody.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}