Tuesday, November 15 2005 15:35 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bhopal: A local court has 'renewed' a permanent arrest warrant against underworld don Abu Salem and his girlfriend Monica Bedi in a fake passport case, even as Madhya Pradesh police waited for a nod from the CBI to seek a production warrant for the former actress, police said today (Nov 15, 2005).

Monica, who was extradited with Salem from Portugal by CBI on November 11, was accused of preparing a forged passport from the state capital in 2001, they said.

A chargesheet was produced before the court against Salem and Monica in 2002, following which a permanent arrest warrant was issued, Superintendent of Police A K Singh told PTI, adding that a local court yesterday renewed the warrant.

"We are in constant touch with the CBI and will apply for production warrant of Monica as soon as we get the go ahead, since she is currently sent on remand by a Hyderabad court in a similar case," he said.

She will be produced before the district court after the remand period, Singh said.

On whether production warrant for Salem will be sought, he said it will depend upon the outcome of discussions with CBI. However, a team is likely to be sent to Hyderabad soon for escorting the former bollywood starlet to Bhopal for questioning and trial on the passport forgery case, sources said.

Salem, who had been visiting the state capital after breaking away from his mentor Dawood Ibrahim, had been instrumental in preparing the forged documents, they said.

The duo was arrested on September 18, 2002 in Lisbon for travelling on fake passports to Portugal.