UK to soon extradite Indian national wanted in child abduction and fraud cases

NEW DELHI: The UK is likely to extradite soon an Indian national who is wanted in India in connection with child abduction and fraud.

Accused Rajesh Kapoor’s name figured in the list of 16 fugitives that India handed over to UK officials during the Indo-British dialogue on Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance held in Delhi on February 20-21.

The list also included UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya, who is facing charges for loan default and money laundering.

Kapur’s extradition is expected soon and the exercise is being viewed as a success following India’s persistent dialogue with the UK on the issue, people familiar with the matter told ET.

Kapoor is accused of kidnapping his brother Deepak Kapoor’s daughter. The child was brought to London almost a decade back. There are also allegations Deepak, and their sister, Seema, were also involved in the kidnapping. The Interpol had earlier issued red corner notices against Rajesh Kapoor and Seema.

The list of fugitives also featured the name of Ravi Shankaran, who is accused in the Indian Navy war room leak case, Tiger Hanif, who is wanted in connection with two bomb attacks in Gujarat in 1993, and Nadeem Saifi, wanted in Gulshan Kumar murder case.

Last year, India had given the UK a list of 57 fugitives whom it wants extradited to India. The UK has since initiated extradition proceedings against 16 of them.

India and the UK have an extradition treaty that was signed in 1993. The treaty though has not helped India much. The first fugitive to be extradited from the UK was Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel, who was brought back in October 2016 to stand trial for his alleged role in 2002 riots in Gujarat.

Hanif has lost his case in the UK courts, but he may get reprieve from the European Union courts. India has also been seeking extradition of British national Raymond Varley, accused in child abuse cases in Goa. The Indian authorities rue that the UK’s legal system allows fugitives to resist or delay their return to India. The issue of extradition had figured prominently during British PM Theresa May’s India trip.

During the February 20-21 dialogue, Indian and British officials discussed measures to avoid delays in processing requests for extradition, many of which have been pending for years. The visiting British officials briefed their India counterparts about the “legal procedure and requirements” in the UK regarding extradition of fugitives wanted by other nations.

The people cited earlier said the UK needs to demonstrate political will to extradite fugitives as it cannot be viewed as a country that gives refuge to law breakers, including terrorists, money launderers and high-profile international criminals.

In contrast, more than 60 terrorists and other fugitives were extradited to India from the United Arab Emirates, the US, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Oman, Peru, Mauritius, Morocco, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Bulgaria, South Africa, Australia, Tanzania and Portugal between February 2002 and December 2015.

Three British citizens were extradited to India in 2004 and 2005, albeit from the US, Tanzania and Bulgaria. India, on its part, extradited Maninderpal Singh Kohli to Britain in 2008. Kohli was wanted in the UK in the Hannah Foster murder case.