Mumbai, Nov. 15: Mumbai police commissioner A.N. Roy has said his department is ready to prosecute Abu Salem in two cases and seek a quick trial on the basis of available evidence.

Officials in the crime department, however, feel that it may be difficult to pursue the rest of the 28 local cases against the gangster.

Salem is wanted by Mumbai police in connection with 30 cases, the agreement between India and Portugal over Salem’s extradition allows prosecution in only two cases.

The two cases relate to the murders of real estate developer Pradip Jain in 1997 and Ajit Dewani, former secretary to Manisha Koirala and Aftab Shivdasani, in 2001.

Salem has been accused of ordering the murders of Jain and Dewani when they refused to pay heed to his extortion calls.

“The copy of the extradition agreement has not yet come to me. But if there is any such provision which limits prosecution to only these two cases, we will work through Indian authorities to make sure this does not happen,” Roy told The Telegraph.

Roy said Mumbai police would not directly seek approval of the Portuguese authorities.

“There is no question of us going directly to them. As of now, our hands are full with the work required to bring Salem to book in the Jain and Dewani cases. We want to take action against Salem in as many cases as possible,” he added.

The commissioner confirmed that his department has formed two special teams to interrogate Salem.

But the police may find it difficult to lay their hands on Salem as the CBI is reluctant to hand him over.

A section of the police feels that it may be a while before they can prosecute Salem in more cases.

“Portugal’s approval is crucial. It is not important whether we seek it directly or through the higher authorities. If the approval is not given, we may have to drop these cases,” said a crime branch officer.

The other cases against Salem include Gulshan Kumar’s murder of 1997 and the attempts on the lives of producers Rajiv Rai and Rakesh Roshan.