Salem not "superhuman", not to be handcuffed, court says

MUMBAI: Saying that the extradited gangster Abu Salem was not "a superhuman" who would flee when several policemen were guarding him, the special TADA court here today granted his plea that police should not handcuff him while ferrying him between the court and the jail.

Salem last month filed an application before the court, taking exception to the handcuffing.

"He is not a superhuman," said judge G A Sanap, allowing Salem's plea.

Earlier, the court had questioned the Navi Mumbai police's argument, where they had said they had intelligence reports saying that he could flee.

The court had said that the report on this "important aspect" was not in writing.

Salem, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was extradited from Portugal on November 11, 2005, after a prolonged legal battle.

The Supreme Court of Portugal last year dismissed an appeal of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging termination of the extradition of the underworld don.

Salem was shot by gangster Devendra Jagtap alias JD, an accused in the murder of advocate Shahid Azmi who had represented an 26/11 Mumbai attack accused, at Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai on June 27 last year. Salem was hit in the hand by one of the two rounds, allegedly fired by JD.

Earlier his lawyers had said that they will move the European Union (EU) seeking execution of the order cancelling his extradition to India by the Portuguese Constitutional Court.