London, Mar 20: Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, the main accused in the USD 2 billion PNB scam case, was arrested on Wednesday by Scotland Yard in London.

The arrest came days after a London court issued an arrest warrant against him in response to a request by the Enforcement Directorate for his extradition in a money laundering case.

"Nirav Deepak Modi, 48 (Date of Birth 24.02.71), was arrested on behalf of the Indian Authorities on Tuesday, 19 March, in Holborn," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

"He will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 20 March," the statement added.

The location of the arrest indicates that Nirav Modi, wanted in India in connection with the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank scam case, was arrested from where he is believed to have been living in a plush apartment in Centre Point in the West End.

It would seem that his arrest is on an extradition warrant, details of which would become clear when he appears before Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.

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Kochi (PTI): A Kerala court on Monday acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep in a case relating to the sexual assault of a South Indian actress in Kochi in 2017.

The court, however, found six others, including prime accused Sunil N S alias Pulsar Suni, who directly committed the crime, guilty.

Apart from Dileep, the court also acquitted three other persons in the case.

The verdict was pronounced by Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge Honey M Varghese, who had concluded the hearing in the lengthy trial on November 25.

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The assault on the actress, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, after her car was abducted for two hours, had shaken the conscience of Kerala society.

According to the prosecution, several persons forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area.

The ten accused who faced trial are Sunil NS alias Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijesh V P, Salim H, Pradeep, Charly Thomas, actor Dileep (real name P Gopalakrishnan), Sanil Kumar alias Mesthri Sanil, and Sharath.

Police arrested the accused soon after the incident and filed the first charge sheet against seven persons in April 2017.

During further investigation, Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017 after the probe team found that the prime accused, Suni, had allegedly sent a letter to him from jail.

Dileep was granted bail on October 3, 2017.