Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday quashed FIR lodged against underworld don Abu Salem in a double murder case on ground that he was to be prosecuted under the extradition decree between India and Portugal.
Judge Vivek Agrawal set aside a murder case registered against the gangster and stayed the trial proceedings by a district court stating that it is in violation of extradition treaty. Court has observed that Salem cannot be tried in any case other than what is mentioned in the extradition decree.
Salem was charged with conspiracy in the 2002- Akbar Nafeez – murder case lodged at Parwalia police station, Bhopal. Permission to prosecute the gangster was only in fake passport case, however, a production warrant was served to him in connection with double murder case also. Salem had challenged the warrant and had moved High Court stating India was violating agreement under which he was extradited.
Salem has already been convicted in fake passport case and his revision plea is pending in the High Court. Bhopal district and sessions court had awarded four years imprisonment to the Azamgarh born gangster in fake passport case in 2014. Advocate Jitendra Soni, while interacting with Free Press said, “High Court has given relief to Abu Salem as production warrant was issued in double murder case without permission and in violation of extradition treaty with Portugal.
Akbar and Nafeez were shot dead in a forest area under Parvalia police station, Bhopal on June 27, 2002. Bhopal police had claimed Akbar was Salem’s shooter. In the chargesheet police said that, Salem had allegedly ordered killing of Akbar for having failed to kill Abdul Siraj, a resident of Bhopal. Siraj was a co-accused in Salem’s fake passport case registered at Koh-i-Fiza police station on November 28, 2007. In the shootout, Akbar’s friend Nafees also got hit and he too died on the spot.
Police had arrested C P Rai from Uttar Pradesh, Sadiq, Ishaq from Delhi and Wazid from Rajasthan and sent them to jail. Investigators had filed a charge-sheet on January 31, 2007 claiming that Wazid, Rai, Sadiq, Ishaq and Salem shot Akbar and Nafeez on Salem’s instruction. On July 27, 2007, a production warrant was issued against Salem in the shootout case.
