UK court discharges PIO couple accused of plotting adopted son’s murder for insurance

LONDON: A UK court on Tuesday turned down a request by India to extradite a PIO couple accused of plotting the murder of their adopted 12-year-old son to get crores from his life cover. The couple was also accused of plotting the murder of their adopted son Gopal Sejani’s brother-in-law. However, the court turned down the request for extradition because life sentences for multiple murders do not get reviewed in Gujarat, where the victims were murdered.
India had requested the extradition of Nairobi-born PIO Arti Dhir, 54, and her Indian husband Kaval Mahendrasinh Raijada, 30, who reside in London, in order to stand trial in Gujarat in relation to six allegations of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, attempt to commit murder, kidnapping, abduction for the purpose of committing murder and abetting a crime.
Handing down the judgment, chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said: “I find there is a circumstantial prima facie case that Ms Dhir and Mr Raijada acting together and with others committed the offences set out above.” But she discharged the couple saying extradition would be incompatible with Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights. This is because there is no possibility of a review either at state level or by the President of India of a life sentence the couple would likely receive if convicted for double murder, she said.
While Dhir’s family hails from Gurdaspur in Punjab, Raijada’s hails from Keshod in Gujarat. Both are alleged to have conspired with five others to murder Gopal in Gujarat and then split the proceeds from a claim on the insurance policy Dhir took out for Gopal worth Rs1.3 crore.
The couple, who have been out on conditional bail, adopted Gopal in India in 2015 when he was 11 because Dhir could not have children. Gopal never moved to London.
Instead, Gopal was kidnapped and stabbed by two hitmen on a motorbike on February 8, 2017, in Keshod. He died on February 11, 2017. His brother-in-law Harsukhbhai Kardani was also stabbed and died on February 17, 2017. The defendants are said to have arranged for the child to be killed with a number of others, including Raijada’s father and one Mr Mund in India.
The motive is said to be financial as a wealth builder policy which was in essence a life insurance policy was set up for Gopal in 2015. In the event of Gopal’s death, it would pay 10 times the value of the annual premium of Rs1.3 crore. Dhir was the proposer and would benefit.
The magistrate said “there was strong evidence of money being sent from the defendants’ London bank account to the man who organised the killing. Relevant emails were exchanged between the UK and India. This evidence means it is not impossible for a prosecution to be initiated here".
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References

1. ^{^} PIO (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
2. ^{^} Gujarat (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
3. ^{^} London (www.happytrips.com)
4. ^{^} Gurdaspur (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
5. ^{^} life insurance (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

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