CBI frets as Kim Davy charms Danish media

Moller will meet External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh on Tuesday. ‘‘We have already exhausted all diplomatic channels by putting out an RCN against Davy and sending an LR to Denmark,’’ a senior CBI official told The Indian Express. ‘‘Now, it’s for the Danish government to honour it, especially after tall claims being made by countries to fight terrorism jointly after September 11.’’

The CBI claims that Davy, a follower of the Anand Marg sect, is the key to unravelling the motive behind the dropping of four tonnes of arms in Purulia, West Bengal, on December 17, 1995. While the five co-accused Latvian pilots were granted a Presidential pardon in July 2000, British national Peter Bleach was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Kolkata sessions court. His appeal is now being heard.

CBI officials feel that India should pursue Davy’s extradition far more vigorously. They say they have intelligence on Davy’s movements in Denmark, information that is also known to the Copenhagen police. In fact, just days before Moller’s visit came more clinching evidence of Davy’s presence in Denmark: on April 25, Deepak Prahladka, a legal activist, screened a Danish documentary at the Kolkata Press Club which placed Davy in Copenhagen. In On the Run, aired on March 18 by Danish channel TV2, Davy can be seen giving spot interviews.

This isn’t the first time Davy has appeared on TV — he was interviewed some years ago, his face covered, his voice barely audible. He has also periodically popped up on the pages of Danish newspapers. Translated excerpts of some stories on Davy include:

n A story dated March 17 in Politiken by Kim Faber, which profiles Davy as well as features an extensive interview. To a specific question relating to the Purulia arms-drop case and his possible extradition, Davy says: ‘‘The thought has certainly occupied my mind. If Muslim fundamentalists are arrested in India, and they want them handed over, then the Indians might have every right to say: ‘Why doesn’t Denmark hand over a man, whom we regard as a terrorist?’ This makes the discussion of terrorism extremely important. Law is one thing but if politics is what it takes to decide what is meant by terrorism, you also have to delve into the political circumstances in West Bengal in order to discover what the situation there is like.’’

About his role in the case, Davy notes that ‘‘I very clearly believe that you draw a line in the sand where every individual has the right to defend himself and his family against injustice.’’ He also admits that he has been in touch with the Anand Marg sect and that he contributes to their projects.

n An editorial in Ekstra-Bladet newspaper dated March 17, which notes the fact that Davy moves ‘‘unhampered’’ in Copenhagen and is in touch with the local police. Accepting that he is wanted for terrorism, the editorial argues that Davy should not be handed over to India since he risks being sentenced to death.

n Another write-up in the same newspaper, by Carl Johan Albrechtsen, which quotes an Interpol Copenhagen official as saying that Denmark doesn’t want to hand over its nationals for prosecution elsewhere. ‘‘If Davy is safe anywhere, it’s probably in Denmark,’’ the official told the newspaper.