Indian-origin couple accused of double murder in Gujarat back in UK court for drug after escaping extradition to India

An Indian-origin couple from London who escaped extradition to India four years ago on charges of the murder of their adopted 11-year-old son and his brother-in-law in Gujarat are back in a UK court this month facing other criminal charges.

Arti Dhir, 58, and husband Kaval Raijada, 35, have now been charged by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) with one count of exporting cocaine to Australia and 12 counts of money laundering. Their trial is scheduled to begin at the Southwark Crown Court in London on October 30.

Arti Dhir and Kavaljitsinh Raijada have both been charged with one count of exporting cocaine to Australia and 12 counts of money laundering, said an NCA spokesperson.

We won’t be providing commentary or comment while the case is ongoing, but the trial is due to commence on 30 October at the Southwark Crown Court, the spokesperson said.

India’s extradition request for the duo had been turned down by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London in July 2019 on human rights grounds under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Judge Emma Arbuthnot discharged Dhir and Raijada noting that if extradited, they will be subject to an irreducible sentence in India.

However, the judge did find that there is a circumstantial prima facie case that Ms Dhir and Mr Raijada acting together and with others committed the offences. However, the rigorous life sentences they would face in India, if found guilty of the multiple murders, resulted in the two accused being freed.

The Indian government had provided an assurance that the death penalty would not apply in their case and also some additional assurances, which came in later than the timeframe stipulated by the court.

In February 2020, India’s appeal in the High Court in London was also dismissed. Lord Justice James Dingemans and Justice Robin Spencer ruled that delays on the part of the Indian government to provide the requisite assurances related to human rights concerns were at the heart of the appeal dismissal.

We accept that there will be financial consequences of discharging Ms Dhir and Mr Raijada and requiring the government to start extradition proceedings again…Those financial consequences were brought about by the government’s failure to obtain directions in relation to the assurance or to provide the assurance at an earlier stage, their judgment reads.

According to details of the case that emerged in court, the murder allegations against the duo relate to their adopted son Gopal Sejani and his brother-in-law Harsukhbhai Kardani in February 2017 in India.

An investigation by Gujarat police claimed that the accused had hatched a plot to adopt Gopal and then insure him for around Rs 1.3 crores before staging his kidnapping and murder in India to split the life insurance payout.

The High Court in London had reiterated the Magistrates’ Court finding that the couple could face prosecution within the UK itself, as the acts alleged to have been carried out by Dhir and Raijada were carried out in this jurisdiction.