The prosecution on Tuesday sought death sentence for gangster Abu Salem in the Pradeep Jain murder case. But Salem opposed the plea on the grounds of the extradition treaty signed with Portugal. A special TADA court had convicted him and two others in the case on Monday.
"Abu Salem is a sadist who has exhibited exceptionally cruel nature while committing the crime. He has shown Talibani mindset as he wanted to kill the entire Jain family when it didn't fulfill his illegal demands," special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said.
He also sought death sentence for co-accused Mehendi Hassan.
Mr. Nikam said that the two accused had absolutely no chance of rehabilitation. "Life imprisonment is an inadequate punishment to the two. There is no alternative but to award death sentence to them. There is not a single mitigating circumstance (in their favour)," he said.
Narrating instances from the trial, Mr. Nikam said that Salem had sought Rs. 20 Lakh as "legal reimbursement" from the Jains in the year 1997, after the shooters were discharged by the court.
He said, Salem was a contract killer who wanted to grab land and property "for some other beneficiaries."
"This is a classic case of organised crime and the captain of the gang was operating from abroad," he said.
In 1995, Salem had called Pradeep Jain's widow, 13 days after the killing, and had asked her if she was mourning the death of her husband. "Abu Salem is a sadist person. He derives perverse pleasure from torturing others. If nature is to be blamed, then such a sadist perversity must be crushed by iron hands of law only at the gallows," Mr. Nikam pleaded.
But the defence opposed the plea of the prosecution. Salem's advocate, Sudeep Pasbola, said that as per section 34 of the extradition treaty signed with Portugal, no death sentence should be given to him. "The government had given an assurance to Portugal that death sentence will not be given, and that the total sentence will not be more than 25 years. Is Maharashtra not bound by the guarantees of the Union of India?"
He said that European countries will not extradite criminals in the future. Even Europe became safe haven for them. He termed the arguments of the prosecution as "acts of frustration" which were "untenable in law."
The arguments will continue on Wednesday.
