The Mumbai police can put extradited gangster Abu Salem on trial in only two cases that are among the eight cases approved for extradition of the gangster from Portugal, sources said Saturday.
The two cases which were approved are the murders of developer Pradip Jain in 1995 and Ajit Dewani in 2001, both of whom were murdered allegedly at the behest of Salem, sources added.
Dewani was secretary to film stars Manisha Koirala and Aftab Shivdasani and was murdered for allegedly opposing the extortion threats of Salem.
Interestingly, the Gulshan Kumar murder case of 1997, in which the T-series music brand owner was shot dead in Mumbai, is not among the eight cases, although the case attracted wide media and public attention for the alleged involvement of Salem, absconding music director Nadeem and film producer Ramesh Taurani.
"At present these are the only two cases under which we can try Salem. For the rest we will have to consult the CBI," Deputy Commissioner of Police Dhananjay Kamalakar of Mumbai crime branch told PTI in Mumbai Saturday.
The Mumbai police has 30 cases registered in which Salem is the prime accused, and after his extradition, they were hopeful of custody of the gangster in many of them to further the investigations.
The important among the 30 cases being the attack on film producers Rajiv Rai and Rakesh Roshan, threats to several film personalities and some extortion cases involving big producers and real-estate developers.