Gangster Abu Salem was on Tuesday granted bail in a 2002 extortion case by a Delhi Court.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav granted him bail on a personal bond of Rs1 lakh and a surety of like amount. Salem would, however, still be in jail as he is facing trial in seven other cases for which he was extradited to India from Portugal.

The court went on to praise Salem’s conduct in jail and said, “This is a matter of record that the conduct of this accused in judicial custody has remained above board and no complaint of any sort has been reported with regard to his conduct in jail by any authority.”

Salem was extradited to India from Portugal on November 11, 2005. His custody from Portuguese government was sought in eight cases, including the present one.

Prior to his extradition to India, he was detained in Portugal from September 18, 2002 and was formally arrested in this case on July 22, 2007 by a Special Cell of Delhi Police.

Salem had sought bail from the court in connection with a case relating to the alleged extortion of money from a Delhi-based businessman, Puneet Khanna, in 2002.

Earlier, Public Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan had opposed Salem’s bail plea on the ground that he had played a major role in the extortion nexus even while being outside the country.

Salem is currently lodged in Taloja jail in Mumbai.