New Delhi, March 13: The Delhi Police has moved a court here seeking to invoke stringent extortion charge against extradited gangster Abu Salem for allegedly making threat calls to some businessmen in 1998.
Salem, extradited from Portugal in 2005 to face trial in eight cases including the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, was initially charged under section 384 (extortion) and 120B (conspiracy) of the IPC, which provides for a maximum three-year jail term.
The police in their application have now sought framing of additional charge under section 387 (putting a person in fear of death in order to commit extortion) against Salem, which entails seven years imprisonment as maximum punishment.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit has now fixed the plea of police for arguments on March 23.
Salem’s counsel M S Khan, however, opposed the plea saying other co-accused have not been charged under the harsher penal provision.
–PTI