Abu Salem remanded on bomb charge

BBC NEWS | South Asia: "One of India's most wanted men has appeared in a court in India after his extradition from Portugal on Thursday.

Indian police accuse Abu Salem of involvement in attacks in Mumbai (Bombay) in 1993 that killed more than 250 people.

Portugal handed over Salem - who denies any part in the bombings - to Indian authorities with his companion, former Bollywood actress Monica Bedi.

Salem and Bedi were arrested in Portugal in 2002. India had assured Portugal that Salem and Bedi would not be executed if they were returned to India. Authorities in India say Salem, an Indian Muslim, is a key associate of Indian crime lord Dawood Ibrahim.

Salem and Bedi arrived in the western city of Mumbai on a chartered airplane on Friday morning, Indian officials said.

A Portuguese court sentenced Salem to four-and-a-half years in November 2003, for possession of forged documents and resisting arrest.

Bedi was sentenced to two years for using false documents.

Salem fled India after the bombings, which left 1,000 injured.

Dawood Ibrahim is also suspected of involvement in the bombings, believed to have been carried out in revenge for the deaths of hundreds of Muslims in riots in 1992.

Indian investigators also want to question Salem in connection with more than 60 murders and cases of extortion and kidnapping involving Bombay film producers and actors. "