Court rejects gangster Abu Salem's plea against prison transfer

Mumbai: A sessions court here on Tuesday rejected gangster Abu Salem’s application against his planned transfer from the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai to another jail in Maharashtra.

Salem, sentenced to life imprisonment in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, claimed that the decision to shift him out of the Taloja prison was a “conspiracy to kill him” as he was likely to be released in a few months.

The current prison was very safe for him and he could be attacked by members of rival gangs in other jails in the state, his plea said.

The jail administration told the court that his current cell was needed to be rebuilt, and there was no other safe cell for him at Taloja.

Judge B D Shelke, after hearing both the sides, rejected Salem’s plea.

The court, however, asked the prison authority not to implement the order till July 3 to enable the gangster to approach the high court.

Extradited from Portugal in 2005, Salem was convicted and awarded life sentence for his role in the 1993 serial blasts case in 2017.