‘I have been in jail for 23 years, please tell me the exact date of release’, gangster Abu Salem appeals to the court.

Gangster Abu Salem Plea to Court: Jailed gangster Abu Salem has filed an application in the special court of Mumbai demanding the exact date of release after completion of his jail sentence. Salem was extradited from Portugal to India in 2005. He was convicted for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017.

The gangster said in the application given in the court of special TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act) cases last week that on July 20, he had written a letter to the Superintendent of Nashik Central Jail asking for information about the remaining days in the jail. He is currently lodged in Nashik jail.

Abu Salem has spent 23 years in jail

When Abu Salem did not get any response from the jail administration, he filed an application in the court requesting that the jail administration be directed to provide information in this regard. Salem claimed that he had spent 23 years and seven months in jail. Hearing his application, the court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file its reply and postponed the next hearing till October 17. Salem claimed that during his extradition from Portugal, India had assured the government there that he would not be kept in jail for more than 25 years.

For which crime is the gangster serving punishment?

In the year 1993, there were serial blasts in Mumbai. More than 250 people had lost their lives. More than 700 people were injured and property worth crores of rupees was also damaged. On June 16, 2017, the court had convicted 6 people (Tahir Merchant, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Karimullah, Abu Salem, Riyaz Siddiqui and Mustafa Dossa) for this incident. According to the agreement and extradition treaty between India and Portugal in the Salem case, Abu Salem will not be given death sentence or imprisonment of more than 25 years.

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