Indian prison conditions, justice system questioned yet again in bid to extradite PIOs accused of double murder

LONDON: The Indian government has once again been asked to provide multiple written assurances about prison conditions in India and this time also confirm whether life sentences in India can “get reviewed”, this time as part of its attempt to extradite a PIO couple accused of murder who are residing in London.

Nairobi-born PIO British citizen Arti Dhir, 54, and her 30-year-old Indian Gujarati husband, Kavaljitsinh Mahendrasinh Raizada, are accused of plotting the murder of an Indian orphan in Gujarat to get millions of pounds from expensive life cover they had set up in his name.

The government of India’s case is that Dhir, whose family hail from Gurdaspur in Punjab, and Raijada, from Keshod in Gujarat, conspired with five others to murder the 11-year-old orphan in Gujarat and then split the proceeds from a claim on the insurance policy Dhir took out for Gopal worth Rs 1.3 crore.

Nitish Mund, from Gurdaspur, is said to have been part of the plot they hatched when Mund was a student in London studying with Raizada.

Mund confirmed during the investigation in India that he was hired by Raizada to arrange the murders but Raizada’s defence argues that confession is inadmissible.

The co-accused all are in in India awaiting trial pending Dhir and Raizada’s extradition.

Dhir, who lives in Hanwell, London, appeared at Westminster magistrates’ court on Monday in black suede high-heeled shoes, black trousers and a black blouse, with perfectly manicured nails. Raizada, her partner, was in dark blue jeans and perfectly polished shoes and a black jacket.

The duo are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempt to commit murder, kidnapping, abduction for the purpose of committing murder, and abetting a crime. The Indian government is seeking their extradition to stand trial before the sessions court in Junagadh but they are contesting extradition.

On Monday the court heard that the Indian government had sent written responses to questions requested by chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot at the last hearing. The defence has now responded to those and Arbuthnot set a hearing date of June 14 for both sides to argue their points.

Arbuthnot had asked the Indian government to confirm whether the sentence of life in Gujarat state is reviewable and provide details of any recent policy issued by the state government on this. This comes after the defence team alleged at the last hearing that a life sentence in India does not get reviewed, which they said was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Arbuthnot has also sought written assurances about the prison conditions Dhir and Raizada will be housed in in Gujarat and, in particular, whether Dhir will have a bed and a chair and whether overcrowding for Raizada is such that it would lead to a breach of Article 3 of the ECHR.

She has also asked to see the contents of emails between Mund and Raizada, as so far the Indian government has only sent the times of the email exchanges between the two, one of which was three hours before the murder took place.

According to the prosecution, Dhir travelled to India for the purpose of adopting the child, Gopal Sejani, on July 20, 2015. She returned to the UK on July 31, 2015. On July 23, 2015, Dhir completed the adoption process before the sessions court, Junagadh. On August 29, 2015, Dhir took out a Rs 1.3 crore insurance policy with ICICI Prudential.

The prosecution alleges that on February 8, 2017, Gopal and his brother-in-law, Harashukh Karadani, were travelling with Mund when they were attacked by two masked assassins on a motorcycle in Keshod, Junagadh. They both died in hospital from knife injuries. The prosecution case is that Raizada had agreed to pay Mund Rs 5 lakh to hire the assassin to murder Gopal.

A request to arrest the couple was communicated to the UK on June 19, 2017, and they were both arrested on June 29, 2017 and remanded in custody. Six months later Dhir was granted bail and nine months later Raizada, too, got bail.