He had contended that charging him under the Act was violation of his extradition treaty
The state government on Monday informed the Bombay High Court that charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against gangster Abu Salem will be dropped in two weeks’ time.
Salem, who was extradited from Portugal in 2005, has three criminal trials pending against him — the murder case of actor Manisha Koirala’s secretary Ajit Dewani, murder of builder Pradeep Jain and 1993 serial blasts trial under Tada — in Mumbai.
Public prosecutor Satish Borulkar told the court that the state government has decided to drop the MCOCA charges against Salem as communicated to the public prosecutor in the special MCOCA court.
“The formalities for the same will be completed in two weeks,” Borulkar said.
Salem, who will now be tried only for offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), may perhaps have better chances of getting bail after the MCOCA charges have been dropped.
Another fallout will be that his confessional statement obtained by the police will not be admissible before court under the IPC or the CrPC; the statement is admissible in court only under MCOCA.
Salem had moved court after being booked under the stringent Act. He contended that he was being tried for offences not mentioned in the extradition treaty with Portugal.
Salem’s advocate Sudeep Pasbola urged the court to direct the state government to drop the MCOCA charge saying that it was a breach of the extradition treaty.
Ajit Dewani, the former secretary of actors Manisha Koirala and Aftab Shivdasani, was shot dead in his Lokhandwala office in June 2001 by two men allegedly at the behest
of Salem.
Apart from Salem, seven other accused were arrested by the police for their alleged involvement in the murder. However, one of them fled from police custody. The trial in the case, however, is yet to begin.
j_mayura@dndindia.net
