British fugitive to be handed over to UK: Goa cops

India will hand over British fugitive Ajay Kaushal to the United Kingdom, under an extradition treaty signed between the two countries, a senior police officer said on Thursday.

Kaushal, 50, who is in judicial custody in Goa, will be handed over to UK police once their men arrive in the state. The handing over would be executed as per the extradition treaty in place between India and UK, Superintendent of Police Atmaram Deshpande told reporters. He will be extradited under Indian Extradition Act, 1962.

The Indian origin man had been on the run after being sentenced to a 15-year jail term by the Preston Crown court for the kidnapping of a businessman from Lancashire.

The businessman was dumped at the roadside by the gang, which included Kaushal, after getting the ransom for him in 2003. The Goa police arrested the accused in Margao town, during the investigation into the death of British citizen William Scott, who died apparently due to a drug overdose in a hotel.

A senior police officer confirmed that Kaushal, who was wanted in the United Kingdom, had managed to get a passport from the British Embassy in Bangkok. He had traveled twice to Goa as a tourist and was in the state last year for three months, police stated.

Sources in the department revealed that Kaushal was staying with a British lady in Colva beach village last year.

The travel documents recovered from Kaushal indicates that he entered India from Bangkok, through the Mumbai airport, and was not stopped at immigration as there was no red corner notice issued against him by the Interpol.