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| Sunday, 22 September 2002 |
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Portugal arrests India blast suspect LISBON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Portuguese police have arrested a man wanted by Indian authorities on charges of involvement in a wave of 1993 bombings that killed 260 people in Bombay, a spokeswoman said on Friday. "I can confirm the arrest," the spokeswoman for the Judicial Police said, but declined to give further details. An Indian embassy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that Abu Salem had appeared in court, but he had yet to be notified of any ruling. "He has been arrested on a charge of possessing forged documents," the official said. "We don't have an extradition treaty with Portugal. Our authorities and legal experts are examining how to process the request." Bombay police say Salem was a key associate of Indian gangster Dawood Ibrahim, whom they accuse of planning and financing the 1993 explosions in retaliation for religious riots triggered by the destruction of an ancient mosque in 1992. Salem is also suspected in the death of music magnate Gulshan Kumar, who was shot dead in Bombay five years ago. He has also been accused of extorting money from dozens of people in India's film industry. Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani told a news conference in New Delhi that deportation was difficult from countries which had abolished the death penalty. But there were provisions in the Indian law to address the problem. "Those countries would be willing to deport the accused only if the country to which he belongs shows that he would not be sentenced to death...because they are against capital punishment," he said. "In this case it (capital punishment) is possible. We are examining the law and our own Indian law permits us that in such cases the necessary assurance may be given by the government." India has struggled to repatriate several key suspects in the Bombay bombings and other high-profile crimes in the country's commercial capital. In November 2001, India said Salem had been arrested in the United Arab Emirates, but received no confirmation from UAE authorities. |
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