Maninder Singh Kohli, accused of rape and murder of British teenager Hannah Foster four years ago, was Saturday extradited to Britain after a court here dismissed his review petition.
Kohli was put on a Virgin Airways flight leaving the Indira Gandhi International Airport here at 1.25 p.m., said External Affairs Ministry counsel A.K Wali, who earlier argued for extradition of Kohli to Britain in various Indian courts.
The operation to put Kohli on a British flight had its own dramatic moments.
Before Kohli could be handed over to British marshals Saturday morning, the government had to issue a fresh passport and other travel documents to enable his extradition.
The operation began Thursday night, when a team of lawyers met him at Tihar jail in Delhi and asked him for his passport.
But Kohli said he had lost his passport. The ministry's legal team asked him to state this in writing and he obliged them. A new passport for him was prepared on the basis of the statement.
With Kohli's passport and other travel documents in place, the ministry issued the extradition warrant against him and sent it to Tihar jail authorities Friday night.
As per the ministry's instructions, the jail authorities got Kohli medically examined in the jail hospital and handed him over to the Delhi Armed Police, which in turn took him to the airport, where he was handed over to British marshals.
To keep the operation a secret, the ministry had instructed Delhi Armed Police not to handcuff him, since that would have forced airport authorities to seek permission from another ministry to let him fly in that condition.
Finally Kohli was put on the flight, which took off at 1.25 pm.
A subordinate court here had allowed his extradition to Britain June 8 with the stipulation that he be not hanged if found guilty. Kohli's petition seeking a review of the ruling was once again turned down by the Delhi High Court Friday.
Kohli stands accused of raping and murdering the 17-year-old British girl after kidnapping her on March 14, 2003 from a place near her home in Portswood, Southampton, where she had gone on a weekend picnic with her friends.
Hannah's body was found two days later and was identified by her mother. A post-mortem examination revealed that she had been raped and strangled.
After allegedly committing the crime, Kohli had fled to India on the pretext of seeing his ailing mother in Punjab. But after reaching India, he went into hiding. He was eventually arrested July 14, 2004 at Kalimpong in West Bengal and has been in custody since then.And a bounty of Rs.50 lakhs was given to informers from Kalimpong.
Kohli was put on a Virgin Airways flight leaving the Indira Gandhi International Airport here at 1.25 p.m., said External Affairs Ministry counsel A.K Wali, who earlier argued for extradition of Kohli to Britain in various Indian courts.
The operation to put Kohli on a British flight had its own dramatic moments.
Before Kohli could be handed over to British marshals Saturday morning, the government had to issue a fresh passport and other travel documents to enable his extradition.
The operation began Thursday night, when a team of lawyers met him at Tihar jail in Delhi and asked him for his passport.
But Kohli said he had lost his passport. The ministry's legal team asked him to state this in writing and he obliged them. A new passport for him was prepared on the basis of the statement.With Kohli's passport and other travel documents in place, the ministry issued the extradition warrant against him and sent it to Tihar jail authorities Friday night.
As per the ministry's instructions, the jail authorities got Kohli medically examined in the jail hospital and handed him over to the Delhi Armed Police, which in turn took him to the airport, where he was handed over to British marshals.
To keep the operation a secret, the ministry had instructed Delhi Armed Police not to handcuff him, since that would have forced airport authorities to seek permission from another ministry to let him fly in that condition.
Finally Kohli was put on the flight, which took off at 1.25 pm.
A subordinate court here had allowed his extradition to Britain June 8 with the stipulation that he be not hanged if found guilty. Kohli's petition seeking a review of the ruling was once again turned down by the Delhi High Court Friday.
Kohli stands accused of raping and murdering the 17-year-old British girl after kidnapping her on March 14, 2003 from a place near her home in Portswood, Southampton, where she had gone on a weekend picnic with her friends.
Hannah's body was found two days later and was identified by her mother. A post-mortem examination revealed that she had been raped and strangled.
After allegedly committing the crime, Kohli had fled to India on the pretext of seeing his ailing mother in Punjab. But after reaching India, he went into hiding. He was eventually arrested July 14, 2004 at Kalimpong in West Bengal and has been in custody since then.And a bounty of Rs.50 lakhs was given to informers from Kalimpong.
