Mumbai, A special court here on Wednesday stayed an arrest warrant issued against alleged gangster Kumar Pillai, as police sought clarification on whether to repatriate him to Singapore or Hong Kong.
Earlier this month, special judge for Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act cases Satyanarayan R Navander had directed the Mumbai police to take necessary steps to send Pillai back to Hong Kong.
Pillai, a Hong Kong passport-holder, has been acquitted in all the cases for which he was originally extradited to India, the court noted.
Originally an Indian citizen, Pillai was arrested in Singapore in 2016 following a 2012 Red Corner Notice against him.
On Wednesday, the prosecution informed the court that the repatriation process has begun, but clarification was necessary as to whether he was to be sent back to Singapore or Hong Kong.
It, therefore, requested the special court to postpone the matter till February 23.
Pillai’s lawyer then urged the court to postpone the warrant issued against his client in January in connection with a 2007 murder case.
The court adjourned the hearing to February 23, and stayed the warrant until then.
Indian authorities had sought Pillai’s extradition from Singapore in connection with six cases registered against him on Indian soil, but a court in that country allowed his extradition for the purpose of trial in three cases including the one related to a firing at the Kanjurmarg office of Lodha Developers in 2009.
While the prosecution claimed that the intention behind the firing was to terrorize the builder and extort money, the court acquitted him holding that no direct link was established between him and the shooters. He was acquitted in the other two cases too for want of evidence.
The MCOCA court, in its February 13 order, said that in view of a Supreme Court ruling, the applicant cannot be tried in India for any other case, unless it is allowed by the country from which he was extradited.
Further, there was no material to show that the prosecution had approached the authorities in Hong Kong for permission to try Pillai in other pending cases, the court said.
The warrant against him was issued in a murder case registered at Vikhroli police station in the city in 2007. The Mumbai police had contended that based on the warrant, it would approach the Singapore authorities for permission to prosecute him in this case.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.