India's hopes of getting Purulia arms drop case mastermind Kim Davy extradited from Denmark to face trial were dashed today with a High Court there refusing to give the green signal to the Danish government.
The Eastern High Court in Copenhagen dismissed the Danish government's plea to allow 49-year-old Davy, who is also known as Niels Holck, to be handed over to CBI in connection with the 1995 Purulia case on the grounds 'of jail conditions and human rights issues' in India.
Shortly after the judgement was pronounced by a five-judge bench of the High court, the CBI said it will request the Danish Ministry of Justice through diplomatic channels to appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court of Denmark.
The new Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh also said the verdict will be challenged in the Danish Supreme Court. Singh however said it is not a 'setback' for India.
Davy said he was 'deeply relieved' over the verdict.
At the same time, Davy said he had asked CBI to bring evidence in Denmark so that the Purulia case can be held there.
"They have refused to do that which is what surprises me," he said.
A CBI spokesperson quoting initial reports from Denmark said the 'plea has been denied on the grounds of jail conditions and human rights issues which is a subject outside the purview of the investigation agency'.
The High court upheld the decision of a lower court which had rejected Danish government's move to allow CBI's request for extradition of Davy after getting a number of sovereign assurances from India including that no death penalty would be imposed on him and permission to serve imprisonment, if decided by court, in Denmark prisons.
The Danish government had appealed against the order of the lower court before the High Court which had reserved its decision.
Davy is wanted by CBI in connection with the arms drop case when an AN-26 aircraft dopped arms and ammunition in Purulia district in the state of West Bengal in India on December 17, 1995.
The consignment had hundreds of AK-47 rifles, pistols, anti-tank grenades, rocket launchers and over 25,000 rounds of ammunition.
"We are convinced that the accused Niels Christan Nielsen alias Kim Davy is main conspirators and executer of this crime and we will make all possible efforts to get him," the spokesperson said.
In an official release yesterday, the CBI spokesperson had said that Davy had not been contesting evidence or the investigation done by CBI and had on several occasions, largely admitted his role in Purulia arms drop case in the Danish court as also in the media, including Indian media.
"His arguments in courts focussed mainly on alleged poor prison conditions and human rights issues in India," CBI had said.
Since the Danish government is defending its decision, CBI is not a party in the case but a team was sent to 'assist' the prosecution with facts and Indian laws.
The crew of the aircraft consisted of five Latvian citizens and Peter Bleach, a British citizen, were arrested while Davy managed to escape.
According to British national Peter Bleach, one of the accused, Davy led the operation and took a cargo plane took from Gatwick Airport in London with four tonnes of weapons undetected.
After nearly crashing in Isfahan in Iran they landed in at Karachi in Pakistan from where they entered India via Varanasi. The crew of the aircraft were released in 2000 after requests from the Russian authorities while Bleach was given a Presidential pardon on February 4, 2004, following requests by the UK government.