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Monica
Bedi remanded to two-day police custody
Hyderabad: Monica Bedi, the girlfriend of underworld don Abu Salem, has been remanded to two days' police custody by a special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with a fake passport case here today. Special Judge for CBI cases CV Subramanyam, who had held the orders yesterday after hearing the arguments of both sides in a petition filed by the CBI, seeking custody of Bedi to collect documentary and oral evidence to reveal crucial facts with regard to other accused who are absconding, remanded her to the police custody. Bedi, who was flown to Hyderabad from Mumbai after being extradited from Portugal along with Abu Salem, was produced before the Special CBI court here on November 12, which had remanded her to judicial custody till November 25. The former Bollywood actor is facing charges of staying in Portugal on forged documents. She is being tried under the Passport act for allegedly acquiring fake passports by giving fake identity in the name of Neha Jaffri and Fauzia Usman in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and Bhopal in 2001.
In Mumbai, the designated TADA court rejected plea of Abu Salem seeking presence of his lawyer during interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In the petition forwarded by Salem, he had sought his lawyer's presence expressing fear that the CBI might force him to make a confession, but the court rejected the plea holding that the reason was premature and based on speculation. The judge, however, asked Salem to approach the CBI in the regard and left the matter to the discretion of CBI whether to allow lawyer during interrogation. Ashok Sarogi, Salem's lawyers, had filed the petition referring that the Supreme Court had laid down a law allowing lawyers to remain present during interrogation within audible distance ruling in the case between Nandini Satpathy and Government. However, CBI opposed Salem's plea saying when Nandidi Satpathi judgement was delivered by the apex court the TADA (P) Act had not come into existence, adding that in the larger interest of society the interrogation should be fair and impartial which might not be possible in the presence of convict's lawyer as it might give him an opportunity to prompt his client or leak information about investigations. Salem, who along with Bedi was brought to Mumbai by the CBI on November 11 after a Lisbon court authorised their extradition, is currently in a 12-day police custody. Over 50 criminal cases are pending against the India s second most wanted, including the murder of music baron Gulshan Kumar in 1997, assault on filmmakers Rajeev Rai and Subhash Ghai in 1997, murder of Chembur builder Om Prakash Kukreja in 1995, murder of builder Pradeep Jain in 1994 and extortion threats to many film personalities.
Meanwhile, the special court has slapped a notice on the Central Bureau of Investigation for an alleged leak of interrogation, his lawyer said on Wednesday. Salem's lawyer, O.A. Siddiqui, told reporters in Mumbai that the court considered their petition that a lawyer should be present when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questions him, adding that the court would pass its orders on Thursday. "The first application was that we have filed it when he was presented before the court that during his interrogation an advocate should be allowed to remain present at an audible distance, not in the room or he can even be outside for which the court has heard in detail today. And keeping in view the Supreme Court ruling of Justice Krishna Aiyer in Nandini Satpathy's case the court is going to pass orders tomorrow," he said. An anti-terrorist court in Mumbai had sent Salem, suspected of involvement in bombings that killed 260 people in the financial hub of Mumbai, to police custody for 12 days, last week. Salem, 36, was extradited from Portugal on November 10 along with his wife, Monica Bedi, a second-rung Bollywood actor. Police have accused Salem of being a key associate of criminal syndicate leader Dawood Ibrahim, whom they say planned and financed the bombings in Mumbai.
The anti-terrorist court in Mumbai, created to try cases relating to the
Mumbai blasts, ordered Salem to the custody of CBI until November 23,
when he will be produced before the court again. Siddiqui said the court
slapped notices on the CBI and the federal Information and Broadcasting
Ministry for alleged leak of case details. "The second application is
against an enquiry to be conducted as to how this information is being
leaked by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation). And the CBI is denying
it that they are not leaking information. How this information has reached
the media, about passport, about separation of them, and in relation to
other things which have been discovered later on, in relation to the dairy
which they say after five days which has come to notice...The notice has
been issued to the CBI to file reply and also to the Ministry of Information,"
Siddiqui said. Bedi is in police custody in Hyderabad in case of forging
her passport. The CBI had sought a five-day custody for interrogating
her. Bedi, along with Salem was extradited from Portugal and both were
brought to Mumbai on Friday by a plane chartered by Indian officials and
were escorted by 20 law enforcement officials. The former actress had
obtained a passport from Andhra Pradesh state's Kurnool district in 2001
under a fake name and address. Bedi will be in custody till November 25.
Salem had been held in Portugal since he was arrested with Bedi in 2002
for using fake documents and resisting arrest.
- Nov 17, 2005
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