BOMBAY, 15 January 2006 — The Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Bombay police has denied allegations of torture by extradited gangster Abu Salem.
Calling Abu Salem a “compulsive liar”, police said polygraph tests of the gangster showed he lied in 90 percent of cases while answering questions When presented before a special anti-terror court yesterday, Abu Salem alleged that police had tortured him and at times he was beaten with leather belts. He also alleged that his confessional statement given in the Jain murder case was taken under torture, and the police had applied the worst kind of third-degree methods on him to extract the confession.
Abu Salem told Judge P.V. Bavkar that he feared for his life while in police remand. He said he was hospitalized twice and that at one time he was unconsciousness for six hours in Bangalore during tests and doctors had almost given him up for dead.
ATS Joint Commissioner of Police K.P. Raghuvanshi said Abu Salem’s allegations were tutored. While in custody of the ATS, Abu Salem was produced more than six times before various judicial authorities. At no time did he complain of any maltreatment.
