Underworld don Abu Salem's girlfriend Monica Bedi, who is facing a trial for extradition from Portugal to India, has written to President A P J Abdul Kalam seeking a "second chance" and pardon and cancellation of criminal proceedings initiated against her by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The handwritten letter was received by the President's secretariat recently.
The President's spokesman S M Khan confirmed the receipt of the letter and said it had been sent to the home and foreign secretaries 'for action as may be deemed appropriate'.
Monica, who on September 17 this year completed a two-year sentence in Portugal for entering that country with forged documents and who continues to be in judicial custody pending the extradition case, stated that she was apologetic of her mistake.
She said she was also scared to return to India as her fate would be sealed and she would not be able to see her parents, who are settled in Norway.
The little-known Bollywood actress had written a similar letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which has been sent to the CBI for its opinion.
The actress, in her letter, said Abu Salem had forced her to secure the forged passport. She claimed she had never used it while going out of India or during her stay in Dubai.
Admitting her "guilt", Monica said the CBI would question her in connection with the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, of which she had no knowledge. "When the blasts took place, I was merely 16 years old and was staying in Norway. My association with Salem was very limited and it continued to be like that even when we were caught in Portugal," she said in the letter.
"Me and my family are already paying a heavy price for my association with Salem," she further said
The CBI had sought Monica's extradition for obtaining the fake travel document in the name of Sanha Kamal Mallick from Hyderabad. She was caught in Portugal with the passport and detained on September 18, 2002 along with Salem and two other companions.
