Crime
India govt’s extradition efforts yield limited results in 2021
As 2021 draws to a close, the Narendra Modi governments efforts to extradite Indian businessmen from Britain for alleged fraud against Indian banks are yet to materialise.
The failed deportation of Lieutenant (Retd) Ravi Shankaran, who was accused of stealing and selling classified information from the Indian Navy’s war room, was not appealed against.
Vijay Mallya, chairman of the now closed Kingfisher Airlines, who was ordered to be extradited by the British judiciary in 2019, is yet to be sent to India. Similarly, diamantaire Nirav Modi continues to fight a legal battle to avoid deportation. Unlike Mallya, though, he has been held in custody at south London’s Wandworth prison since his arrest in 2019.
India and the UK had signed an extradition treaty in 1992. This was ratified the following year and has been in force since. Yet, only two individuals – one of them voluntarily – have been returned to India.
British solicitors Gherson’s comment is: “Chief among these bars to extradition has been the (UK) Court’s obligation to ensure that extradition would be incompatible with the rights of an individual under the European Convention on Human Rights, codified in English law with the passing of the Human Rights Act, 1998.”
London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court had ordered Mallya’s extradition and this was upheld by the High Court of England. Gherson observes: “It has been widely reported that Mallya has, however, lodged an asylum claim, which has resulted in the extradition request being put on hold for the time being.”
The High Court of England, which earlier this year declared Mallya bankrupt at the instance of creditor Indian banks, will hear an appeal from him on the matter in the New Year.
Legal circles in the British capital believe he is bound to bring to the notice of the court that assets seized from him by Indian investigators have been sold and money owed to the banks have been received by them.
On July 26 last, Mallya had tweeted: “ED attached my assets worth (Rs) 14K crore at behest of Govt Banks against debt of (Rs) 6.2K crore. They restore assets to Banks who recover (Rs) 9K crore in cash and retain security over (Rs) 5K crore more. Banks ask Court to make me Bankrupt as they may have to return money to the ED. Incredible.”
Three days later, he posted on Twitter an Indian newspaper clipping which reported: “IDBI Bank said that it has recovered the entire dues pertaining to Kingfisher Airlines, which helped the lender report a 318 per cent jump in net profit for the quarter ended June 2021.”
In effect, the same court, which in a ruling prior to the bankruptcy order had expressed confidence that Mallya would be able to settle his debt, may now need to take into account the fact that the banks have actually recovered their lending. In other words, if it reverses its judgement, this could potentially have an impact on the extradition verdict as well.
Gherson points out the conclusion of the judge at the Westminster Court was based on the Indian government contending that loans from Indian banks “were premised on a conspiracy to commit fraud by way of fraudulent misrepresentation”.
The fact is, Indian investigators have failed to establish a case in this respect against the then chairman and senior executives of IDBI Bank, who were named as being co-conspirators with Mallya.
Nirav Modi, who too was ordered to be extradited, appealed against this on the grounds that his mental health is such that he is a suicide risk. This was heard on December 14 last. “He is at high risk of suicide already and his condition is likely to deteriorate further in Mumbai,” Modi’s barrister Edward Fitzgerald argued.
If Nirav Modi loses his appeal, he could still seek reviews at either the UK’s Supreme Court, or the European Court of Human Rights. Mallya did not exercise these options.
Significantly, the cases against them were registered when Britain was still a member state of the European Union (EU) and came under EU laws.
In chasing high-profile, headline-making alleged fugitives for justice, the Government of India may have neglected the serious issue of pilferage of sensitive documents from the Indian Navy’s war room by Shankaran.
The extradition request in this connection was rejected by the High Court of England in 2014. If there was no scope of an appeal, this does not appear to have been adequately explained. One newspaper claimed Shankaran earned a whopping sum from selling the stolen papers to armaments firms and dealers. The accused, said to be residing in London, could not be reached for a comment.
Crime
Mumbai: Man Stabbed To Death After He Intervenes To Settle Dispute In Sion Koliwada; Antop Hill Police Arrest 5
Mumbai: A 22-year-old was murdered in the early hours of Friday in Mumbai’s Sion Koliwada area after an argument broke out over noise pollution. The Antop Hill police have registered an FIR in the case and so far five people have been arrested and further investigation is underway.
The incident took place around 12:30 am in Kokri Agar In Jai Maharashtra Nagar, Antop Hill. Vivek Gupta (22) was attacked with a knife and he succumbed to his injuries. As initial information available, a group of people were making noise causing disturbance on the street which lead to an argument broke out. Gupta had gone to resolve the dispute between the accused, however, angered over his interference, Gupta was attacked.
What started as a small fight soon escalated and Gupta was attacked with a knife. He was immediately taken to Sion Hospital, however, he succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced dead at 3:30 am. The senior police officers of Mumbai Police Zone 4 were present at the hospital. The cops have so far arrested five suspects connected to this incident, and further investigation is underway.
The arrested accused are: Karthik R Mohan Devendra, Karthik Kumar Devendra, Vicky Muttu Devendra, Miniappan Ravi Devendra and the wife of Karthik R Mogan, the police informed. The case is registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.
Crime
Mumbai: 6 Booked For Defrauding Stock Trader Of ₹1.5 Cr In Bitcoin Investment Scam
Mumbai: The Bandra police have registered an FIR against six persons for allegedly defrauding a stock trader of nearly Rs 1.50 crore in a Bitcoin investment scam. The suspects fled even before the case was filed, prompting a manhunt. They have been identified as Abur Sode, Dhanjibhai Rawaria, Jishan Shaikh, Indrajit Latif, Abdul Latif, and Ramkumar Dharmak, all from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
The complainant in the case, Yogesh More, 50, is a resident of Parel and operates a stock trading business in the Marwari area in Bandra West. He met the accused three years ago, during which they introduced themselves as representatives of a company called Friptex Finsol, claiming to offer Bitcoin as a virtual currency.
Trusting them, More transferred around Rs42 lakh in cash and Rs1.08 crore via cheque to various bank accounts associated with the company for Bitcoin purchases between November 2021 and October 2024. Despite these payments, he did not receive the promised Bitcoins, and after multiple inquiries, the accused continued to evade him. Over the last three years, neither the Bitcoins nor a refund was provided.
Complaint Lodged At Bandra Police Station
Suspecting fraud, he began investigating and discovered that Friptex Finsol was a bogus company, and the accused had orchestrated a scam. He then lodged a complaint with the Bandra police. Following an initial inquiry, the police registered a case against six persons under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
A police officer said that the accused are from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. “The preliminary inquiry has not revealed any past criminal history. We are searching for the accused,” the officer added.
Crime
West Bengal: Youth Arrested For Rape Of Deaf & Mute Woman In South 24 Parganas’ Kultali
Kolkata: A youth was arrested on the charges of raping a deaf and mute woman at a deserted building in Kultali in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
Even as the main accused in the case has been arrested, the local people had been agitating claiming that a local Trinamool Congress panchayat chief Prahlad Nashkar allegedly pressurised family members of the victim to settle the matter against Rs 2,00,000.
However, Nashkar has denied the allegations, saying he was the first to reach the spot and inform the family members of the victim about the incident.
Complaint Filed
The victim’s family members filed a complaint on Wednesday evening. Thereafter, the police started an investigation and based on circumstantial evidence, the accused youth was arrested.
He will be presented at a district court in South 24 Parganas on Thursday only and the public prosecutor will seek his police custody, a district police official said.
Part Of Kultali & Jaynagar Turn Into Virtual Battlefields
In the first week of this month, part of Kultali and adjacent Jaynagar turned into virtual battlefields over violent protests by the local people over the rape and murder of a minor girl there.
At that point in time, the main allegation of the local people was against the police and the latter ignored the missing complaint by the parents of the victim. The local people also alleged that had the police been active in tracking the victim minor, the heinous crime could have been averted.
The protesters became violent and attacked the police station. A local police camp was ransacked and set on fire. The police had to resort to massive lathi-charge to dispel the mob then.
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