The Maharashtra government would take up with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) the termination of the extradition of underworld don Abu Salem by the Lisbon High Court, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Asked about the steps planned by the State in the light of the order issued by the Lisbon court for breach of agreement by India, Mr. Chavan said: “We have to discuss with the Ministry of External Affairs to find out what action we need to take. This is a subject of foreign relations. I cannot make any off-the-cuff remark.”
Salem and his girlfriend Monica Bedi, who were living in Portugal, were extradited to India in 2005. She is an accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case and the Pradeep Jain murder case, among others. He was previously lodged in the high-security Arthur Road Central Jail here, but shifted to the Taloja jail after he was allegedly attacked by gangster Mustafa Dossa.
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Answering a question on the 2G spectrum scam and the BJP's accusations against the Prime Minister's Office, where he was the Minister of State when the licences were allotted, Mr. Chavan said the probe should be allowed to go on. “In the PMO, work is delegated. Let the probe go on. The BJP seems to have opened an RTI department to find out who signed where.”
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Mr. Chavan said he would duly reply to the two letters sent to him by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. One pertained to the setting up of a strong and effective Lokayukta in the State.