 A large police presence greeted Abu Salem at the Mumbai court |
One of India's most wanted men had a number of unwanted people at the first hearing since his extradition to India from Portugal.A mob of journalists had for hours been standing outside the special court in Mumbai (Bombay) where Abu Salem was to be presented.
They all wanted to get their big story and a glimpse of the suspected mafia leader who had eluded authorities for more than 12 years.
His main suspected crime - the bomb blasts case in Mumbai in 1993 that killed more than 250 people.
But there are other cases of murder, extortion and kidnapping involving several Bollywood film producers and actors.
When he was finally brought to court amid a large police presence, it would have been hard to identify the man in the dock as one of the country's most wanted had he not identified himself as Abu Salem Ansari.
Submission
Dressed in a striped cream-coloured T-shirt and faded blue jeans, Abu Salem looked a harried man. He stood in the witness box throughout the hearing, looking around but mostly downwards.
He looked thinner than his picture on the police website and was clean-shaven. He responded mostly in Hindi and spoke softly when asked questions by the judge.
There was no defiance or authority in his demeanour, rather a touch of nervousness and a sense of submission.
The hearing went on for about an hour during which Abu Salem was asked to identify himself and give details such as age - 36 years - and permanent residence address - Azamgarh in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
He was asked other routine questions, such as whether he had been "maltreated" by the police or if he wanted to inform his relatives of his arrest, to which he answered mostly in single sentences, and sometimes monosyllables.
His face was expressionless for most of the hearing except when the prosecution argued for him to be put in police custody for 30 days.
The judge refused. The prosecutor argued further, sparking a bargaining exchange that had even Abu Salem amused.
That was the only moment of levity. The rest of the time, there was no way of guessing what was going through his mind.
It was barely believable to many that the man whose very name struck terror in the hearts of Bollywood stars and film producers, as well as other residents of Mumbai, would be standing utterly defenceless in court, facing trial.
Nevertheless, many in the city will now breathe a little more easily.
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