Lisbon, Oct 15: A Lisbon court opened extradition proceedings against underwold don Abu Salem charged with engineering the serial bomb blasts in 1993 that claimed 257 lives, local media said today. Salem was arrested in Lisbon last year with his girlfriend Monika Bedi, an Indian movie star, on charges of forging personal identity documents.

Salem, who is fighting the Indian government's extradition request, appeared in court yesterday, daily Diario De Noticias reported. His defence lawyer was not immediately available for comment today. In June, a Lisbon court ruled that Salem could not be extradited to India because the countries do not have an extradition treaty.

The Supreme Court, however, overturned the lower court's decision this month, allowing the extradition proceedings to go ahead.

The hearing was due to continue with more witnesses testifying later this week, the newspaper said. The court could issue a ruling sometime next week after defence attorneys and the public prosecutor present closing arguments. Salem is also wanted for the bombing of India's national airline offices, the state passport office and three hotels. He is a suspect in several high-profile murder cases, including the killing of Indian music industry mogul Gulshan Kumar.

Bureau Report