Dawood Ibrahim aide Jabir Moti's extradition trial set for March 2019 in UK
London, Nov 12: Jabir Moti, an alleged "top lieutenant" in underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's organised crime syndicate, will stand trial in March next year in his extradition case on money laundering and extortion charges brought by the US authorities, a Westminster Magistrates' Court judge in London said on Monday.
Judge Tan Ikram remanded Pakistani national Jabir Moti, aka Jabir Motiwala and Jabir Siddiq, in further custody to appear for a case management hearing on December 10, before a three-day trial scheduled for March 13-15 in 2019.
The 51-year-old appeared before the court via routine procedure of video link from Wandsworth Prison in south-west London on Monday, when a previously set date for the trial in February 2019 was delayed due to scheduling reasons.
"Due to non-availability of counsel, the trial will now take place in March. I am mindful of the delay but the delay is very small," said Judge Ikram.
Moti, who has made an application to the court to have his name changed on the case documents to Jabir Siddiq, was arrested by Scotland Yard officers from a London hotel in August following an FBI investigation dating back to 2005.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the US authorities, has told the court that he is a "senior member" of D Company, a crime syndicate associated with Dawood Ibrahim, a key accused in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case.
Prosecutor Ben Lloyd told the court at a hearing in September that the summary of the US charges against Moti cover allegations of laundering USD 1.4-million of purported proceeds from narcotics smuggling and "conspiracy to collect credit extensions by extortionate means", amounting to around USD 80,000.
The charges relate to a period between December 2011 and September 2012, which carry a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars in the US.
"For a fee, D Company uses the power of violence for debt collection and has a reputation of intimidating members of the family of its debtors in India and Pakistan," the prosecution said in its case summary.
Moti's defence team has disputed allegations of him being a key aide of D Company as "obvious nonsense", describing their client as a "man of exemplary character" who is a tax paying, prominent businessman based in Karachi and accredited as a stock broker, with a family stock-broking business dating back to the 1950s in Pakistan.
At a previous hearing, the Pakistan government had also vouched for Moti's "good character" but the court ruled that it remained unconvinced that Moti did not pose a "flight risk" and denied him bail.
Moti's defence, led by Toby Cadman of Guernica law firm, has said it intends to depose a number of legal experts as witnesses in the case, with the key issues being "abuse of process and entrapment" by the authorities.
While Dawood Ibrahim's name has not come up specifically during the UK court proceedings, Westminster Magistrates' Court has been told that D Company is "named after the leader of the company based in Pakistan", associated with trafficking and money laundering through international smuggling routes across South Asia that were also linked to terrorist funding.
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
