In the second major embarrassment for India after the Kim Davy episode, a British court has sought India’s consent to depute a human rights expert to visit Gujarat jails to examine the conditions there before it grants extradition of Mohammad Hanif Umerji Patel, alias Tiger Hanif, the alleged mastermind of the 1993 bomb blast in Surat. Hanif has cited India’s poor human rights records and fear of torture in his plea to a British court which is hearing the Indian government’s application for his extradition.
Hanif is a prized catch for India’s security agencies as he can shed light on the terror links of the Dawood Ibrahim-Lashkar-e-Tayyaba network. The Union home ministry has agreed to meet the conditions set by the British court but said a “reciprocal” approach will be adopted. The home ministry has also written to the Gujarat government seeking its response to the court’s move to send a human rights expert to study the jail conditions in Surat. “The British court wanted some reassurances. We have agreed, but also told them in no uncertain terms that when they make a request we will insist on the same conditions,” a senior government official told this newspaper. India’s toughened approach comes close on the heels of the Danish high court refusing to extradite Purulia armsdrop case accused Kim Davy due to similar fears of conditions in Indian jails.
“We will finalise our response (to the British court) after we get a reply from the Gujarat government,” the official added. Hanif was arrested by Scotland Yard last year on the basis of a Interpol red corner notice. A member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, Hanif fled India after the 1993 Surat bombings which left an eight-year-old girl dead and 12 others injured. He was being hunted by police forces worldwide for over 17 years. Hanif is believed to have acquired a British passport while hiding there.
The Surat blasts took place soon after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992 and the March 1993 Mumbai blasts, and a total of 17 persons, including former Gujarat minister Mohammed Surti, were convicted for their role in the bombing and given jail terms ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.