Underworld gangster Abu Salem and two others were convicted in the 1995 murder case of city-based builder Pradeep Jain by a Special TADA court here on Monday, nearly nine-and-a-half years after he was extradited from Portugal.
Salem was convicted under Sections 302 (murder) 120 B (conspiracy) of the IPC and other relevant sections of TADA”. Two other accused, who were also found guilty and convicted in the Pradeep Jain murder case, were: Virendra Jhamb and Mehndi Hassan.
The Prosecution’s case was that on March 7, 1995, Jain was gunned down by assailants outside his Juhu bungalow after he allegedly refused to part with his huge property to Salem. The trial in the Pradeep Jain murder case began in 2008. In all, 25 witnesses were examined by the Prosecution, while defense lawyer examined one witness.
The TADA court, in January last year, had dropped some Sections against Salem in the case after the prosecution sought for the same saying that some charges need to be withdrawn in order to maintain cordial relations between two sovereign countries — India and Portugal
The Prosecution and defence lawyers will put up on the quantum of sentence to be handed to convict Salem and two otherts at a hearing to be held on Tuesday. Monday’s was the first-ever conviction that an Indian court has handed Salem after he was extradited to India along with his girl friend Monica Bedi on November 11, 2005.
A key accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Salem is being tried six other cases registered in various parts of India. On January 31, 2012, a TADA court rejected Salem’s plea for closure of his trial in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, after the CBI opposed his plea on the ground that it had challenged Portugal Supreme Court’s order terminating his extradition in that country’s constitutional court.
Salem was initially lodged at the Arthur Road Prison. Following an attack on him by Dawood Ibrahim’s aide Mustafa Dossa at the Arthur Road prison on July 24, 2010, Salem was shifted to Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.
Salem had filed a petition in the Portugese High Court in lisbon alleging violation of Rule of Specialty after which a judgment was pronounced on September 19, 2011, saying there had been breach of the Indian undertaking given to the Portuguese authorities. The Portugal High Court order had said that India slapped offences which attracted death penalty (capital punishment has been abolished in Portugal). Subsequently, the Portugal Supreme Court upheld the high court’s ruling.