Court issues open warrant against ‘gangster’, decision on his plea to be repatriated to Hong Kong pending

An open warrant has been issued against Kumar Pillai, who faced allegations of being a gangster, in connection with a murder case dating back to 2007. Pillai, who was brought to the city in 2016 from Singapore, had approached a special court in November stating that the three pending cases against him have ended in acquittal and therefore he should be repatriated to his ‘home country’ Hong Kong of which he is a citizen. A decision on the plea is yet to be taken.

Earlier, the Mumbai police crime branch approached the court seeking an open warrant against Pillai, stating that after verifying its records, it found that he is absconding in one more case. The case relates to the murder of a man in 2007, in which two persons, alleged to be Pillai’s associates, were acquitted by the court in 2017. The police told 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. The court said that the chargesheet of the case shows that Pillai is named as an absconding accused and he was not arrested in the crime.

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“The police authorities wanted to arrest the accused and conduct further investigation against him. Therefore, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, it is necessary to issue a warrant of arrest against accused Kumar Pillai,” additional sessions judge R B Rote said in the order passed on January 19. Pillai faces allegations that he had fired at a man and his friend in 2007 over a past rivalry. The police had booked Pillai on charges including murder, attempt to murder of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act.

In his plea filed in November, Pillai had claimed that after the conclusion of the three cases for which he was brought to India, as per the proposal to the Singapore authorities in 2016, he has no status in India, but nor is he being permitted to leave the country. He sought directions from the court in this connection.