UK REFUSES TO EXTRADITE ACCUSED IN GUJARAT BLASTS

Tiger Hanif faces charges related to two blasts in Gujarat in 1993 as a revenge for the 1992 Ayodhya demolition(ht File)

LONDON,HINDUSTAN TIMES,7MAY 2020 - Britain has refused India’s request to extradite Tiger Hanif – described as a ‘classic fugitive’ by the high court of England and Wales – to face charges related to two blasts in Gujarat in 1993 as a revenge for the 1992 Ayodhya demolition.

One of India’s high-profile cases in the UK, Hanif, reported to be an aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested in Bolton in 2010. He exhausted options to block extradition after it was cleared by the Westminster Magistrates Court and the high court in 2013.

The Home Office informed Hindustan Times that the extradition request for Hanif – full name: Hanif Mohammed Umerji Patel – was refused by former Home Secretary Sajid Javid and was later discharged by the court.

Hanif’s arguments to oppose extradition included risk of torture in a Gujarat jail, passage of time, that he would be denied justice, and that there is no case for him to answer.

For the first time, a team was sent from London to inspect jail conditions in India during the trial.