Extradited to India in 2016: Court asks police chief to take steps to repatriate ‘gangster’
Kumar Pillai, an engineering student allegedly turned gangster is originally an Indian and now a citizen of Hong Kong. He had sought directions from court as his plea to exit India to go back to his “home country” was not being approved.
IN WHAT is likely to be the first such case, a special court in Mumbai has ordered the commissioner of Mumbai Police to take necessary steps to repatriate to Hong Kong, an alleged gangster extradited to India in 2016, after he was cleared of all the cases he was brought here to face trial for.
Kumar Pillai, an engineering student allegedly turned gangster is originally an Indian and now a citizen of Hong Kong. He had sought directions from court as his plea to exit India to go back to his “home country” was not being approved.
Pillai was brought to India from Singapore in 2016 after the Mumbai Police sought permission to prosecute him in three cases. Pillai said that once he was cleared in the three cases, he cannot be kept in India. The court said that in view of the extradition treaty, Pillai cannot be put to trial for any other offence unless such permission is obtained.
“…in the absence of permission from the extraditing country, the applicant (Pillai) cannot be tried in India for any other pending cases. Consequently, the prosecution is left with no option but to take steps to repatriate the applicant to his home country, namely Hong Kong,” special judge S R Navander said in an order passed on February 13, made available on Monday.
The court said that the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, “shall take necessary steps” for Pillai’s repatriation and shall report its compliance within one month. Police had opposed the plea stating that if he is sent, it will be difficult to secure his presence in other pending cases. The court said that he was cleared in the three cases he was brought here for and no appeal was filed against the judgments.
The 58-year-old Vikhroli-based Pillai moved the application before the special court seeking repatriation under the Extradition Act in November, which was reported by The Indian Express in December. His plea said that he had applied with the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) for exit from the country as well as for a valid Indian visa for entering but the same is not yet approved.
After his plea, the Mumbai Police sought an open warrant against him in another case, stating that after verifying its records, it found that he was still wanted in a case of murder in 2007, where a man was killed over past rivalry. Police then told the court that to make Pillai face trial in the case, a proposal is required to be made before the authorities in Singapore, and hence an open warrant is needed. Another court then issued an open warrant against Pillai in January.
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After the special court’s order to repatriate him, Pillai has sought cancellation of the open warrant. On Monday, his lawyer was permitted to place the order before it and the case is now adjourned for order on Wednesday on the cancellation of his warrant.
While in many cases where gangsters are extradited, they also face allegations of having left the country on fake passport and living abroad on a fake identity. Pillai left the country around 2007 on his Indian passport after being acquitted in the pending cases and subsequently acquired Hong Kong citizenship. The Mumbai Police had named him as a wanted accused in criminal cases filed here and a red corner notice was issued against him on January 18, 2012.
On receiving information about his travel to Singapore for a visa appointment for his daughter’s studies in the US, a request for detaining and extraditing him was sent and he was arrested in Singapore on January 15, 2016. Officials then sent the documents of six pending cases against Pillai but permission to try him was granted in three cases. Two of these were related to alleged extortion bids and one of a murder bid. Pillai also faced charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
He was acquitted in the cases one by one in 2020, 2022 and 2024, with the court finding no evidence against him.
Sadaf Modak is a distinguished Legal Correspondent based in Mumbai whose work demonstrates exceptional Expertise and Authority in covering the intricacies of the judicial and correctional systems. Reporting for The Indian Express, she is a highly Trustworthy source for in-depth coverage of courtroom proceedings and human rights issues.
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