Mumbai:
Gangster Abu Salem, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, was attacked inside the Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai today.
Salem sustained a bullet injury on his arm when an inmate fired at him around 8:30 pm, sources said. He has been taken to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Hospital in Vashi. Salem was allegedly attacked by another inmate, Devendra Jagtap, who was arrested in connection with the murder case of an advocate named Shahid Azmi.
This is the second attack on the gangster inside a jail after he was deported from Portugal in 2005. He was previously attacked inside Mumbai's Arthur Road jail in 2010, following which he was moved to the Taloja Central Jail over security concerns.
Salem was arrested in Lisbon in 2002 along with his girlfriend, actor Monica Bedi, for travelling with fake passports. He was extradited from Portugal in 2005 for his alleged role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts which left 257 dead and 713 injured.
While getting Salem extradited, India had given an executive assurance to Portugal that it would not press any charge which would entail death penalty and would not keep him behind bars for more than 25 years, key requirements in extradition proceedings in Europe.