Abu Salem remanded to police custody till January 9

     Mumbai: A designated TADA court today remanded extradited don Abu Salem to police custody till January 9 in connection with the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast case. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the TADA court here that in view of the revelations made by co-accused Riyas Siddiqui, it needed to interrogate Salem further. Siddiqui was arrested by the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of Mumbai Police for supplying firearms to Abu Salem's henchman to kill Pradeep Jain in 1995.

   The CBI had obtained the permission to take Riyas Siddiqui into custody to probe him on the serial blasts in Mumbai. Siddiqui's role in providing arms to Salem's men to kill Jain surfaced when the ATS was interrogating Salem in Jain murder case of 1995. The ATS had brought to notice of the TADA court that during its interrogation, Siddiqui had confessed to his role in supplying arms to Salem's men to kill Jain, and had also admitted to his role in 1993 blasts in Mumbai. Earlier, on the last day of his police remand on January 3, Abu Salem had confessed to his role in the murder of Pradeep Jain in 1995. He told ATS interrogators that Pradeep Jain was murdered on the instructions of Dawood's brother, Anees Ibrahim. This confessional statement was presented before the TADA court on the same day.

   Salem, who was extradited from Portugal after protracted legal battle in Portuguese courts on November 11 was under three days police custody after he was brought from Bangalore to Mumbai. He underwent a series of tests at the Forensic Laboratory in Bangalore in connection with the Pradeep Jain murder case. The Mumbai TADA court had permitted the ATS team to take Salem, against whom the CBI is investigating more than 40 cases, to Bangalore for conducting the tests. Salem underwent a brain mapping, narco analysis and polygraph tests. Salem is reported to have disclosed the names of certain persons who were part of his financial chain of collection and distribution of extorted money and other information pertaining to his alleged role in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, besides his involvement in the murder cases of Ajit Dewani and Pradeep Jain. Pradeep Jain, a builder from suburban Andheri, was shot dead by assailants at his office in March 1995. The murder was suspected to be culmination of a tiff between Jain and Salem over the development of a prime piece of land in Andheri. Jain owned the piece of land, while Salem wanted him to sell it to another builder at a nominal price. When Jain refused, he was killed.