The special court for Central Bureau of Investigation cases on Thursday remanded underworld don Abu Salem to judicial remand till January 3 in connection with a passport forgery case.

Abu Salem [Images] has been lodged in Chanchalguda central jail after he was brought to Hyderabad by train from Mumbai on Wednesday under heavy police escort.

On his behalf, counsel S Prasdeep Kumar filed his memo of appearance and sought permission of the court to speak to Salem for half an hour. Salem also sought the court's permission to speak to his counsel for another 10 minutes.

"The court has extended Abu Salem's judicial remand till January 3. Later, he was shifted to Chanchalguda central jail," counsel Pradeep Kumar told rediff.com.

He said that Abu Salem is likely to be taken back to Mumbai by train at 2.30 pm on Thursday to be lodged again in the high-security Arthur Road Jail.

The CBI, which has completed the investigation in the case, filed the chargesheet in the special court. Abu Salem has been charged with obtaining passports for himself, his starlet girlfriend Monica Bedi [Images], and his wife Sabeena Azmi under fictitious names and addresses in Kurnool town in Andhra Pradesh.

A case was registered under sections 468 (forgery), 471 (using forged document as genuine), and 420 (cheating), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Passport Act.

Monica Bedi was convicted in the same case after the investigators split the case and conducted her trial. She later moved the Supreme Court and secured bail.

Image: Underworld don Abu Salem at a CBI court in Hyderabad, where he was produced in connection with a Passport forgery case.

Text: Syed Amin Jafri / Photograph: Snaps India