Fresh warrant issued against Abu Salem

A court in the Capital on Saturday issued a fresh production warrant against underworld don Abu Salem for January 30.

A court in the Capital on Saturday issued a fresh production warrant against underworld don Abu Salem for January 30 as the Mumbai Police once again failed to produce him in connection with a MCOCA case.

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Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur, who, on November 3, had asked the police to produce the don in an extortion case in Delhi, expressed displeasure over the inaction and ordered that his presence be ensured on the next date of hearing.

Salem, who was extradited from Portugal in 2005 and is presently lodged in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail in connection with various cases, including the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case, is accused of attempting to extort Rs five crore from a South Delhi-based contractor in 2002. Salem was earlier declared a proclaimed offender in the five-year-old case. The case involves five of his alleged syndicate members, including a woman, who were arrested for threatening a contractor Ashok Gupta to extort money from him.

The court had earlier also allowed the special cell of Delhi Police to quiz the gangster in the case, registered under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA). Police have already filed a chargesheet against the other five accused -- Pawan Kumar Mittal alias Raja Bhai, Sajjan Soni alias Babu Bhai, Majid Khan alias Raju Bhai, Mohammed Ashraf alias Babloo and the woman, Chanchal Mehta. As per the chargesheet, the don had made threat calls to Gupta, a resident of Greater Kailash, demanding Rs five crore as protection money.