India yet to act on 35 cases involving death of British nationals

Seven years after 40-year-old Stephen Bennett,a British national,was lynched at the industrial town of Roha in Maharashtra in 2006,his family still awaits justice

Seven years after 40-year-old Stephen Bennett,a British national,was lynched at the industrial town of Roha in Maharashtra in 2006,his family still awaits justice. In 2011,those arrested in the case by the police were acquitted of all charges. The family now wants a CBI probe.

The case is one among the 35 cases where families of UK nationals have been either waiting for arrest of the suspects or the toxicology reports. While India has been raising concerns over attacks on Indians abroad,the government is yet to conclude cases listed out by the UK government.

The family of 23-year-old British youth Michael Blakey,who was murdered in Dharamsala in November 2006,has been waiting for closure of the case. The families of such victims had taken up the issue with the UK,which in turn asked India to expedite the final reports.

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The UK offered to pay for the toxicology analysis. Of the 35 cases,over 16 are pending due to delay in getting the viscera reports. Officials say most the cases have been reported from Goa and Punjab. Goa alone accounts for 24 cases.

British Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit in February is learnt to have handed over two lists with names of the British nationals to the Ministry of External Affairs. Unhappy with Indias response,UK Minister of State for Foreign Office Hugo Swire again had recently raised the issue with foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai. After this,the home ministry has been roped in to ensure that state governments speed up the process.

The latest in the list of cases is that of a British schoolgirl,Gurkiren Kaur Loyal. She died in April after being given an injection for dehydration at a local clinic in Punjab. Her parents have alleged that most of her organs were missing and that she died of medical negligence. The UK government took up the issue with India after which the Punjab government said they have sent some organs for medical tests.

Another case is that of 50-year-old Ajay Kushal,who was wanted in a case in the UK. After his arrest in Goa,Kushal was awaiting extradition when he reportedly died in police custody in 2010. The cause of his death is not known yet.

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A majority of cases pertaining to British citizens are pending due to delays in finalising viscera report as the state labs have a heavy workload. We have requested the states to expedite the same and are taking up the matter on a case-to-case basis, an MHA official said.

The UK government has also highlighted the case of Surjit Kaur,who was kidnapped from a house in Phagwara. Her beheaded body was later found in Saharanpur on March 31,2011. But even after two years,the case has not been closed. Two suspected killers,arrested on April 6,2011,were let off due to witness testimony being withdrawn despite the the two confessing to the crime.

The police said the trio from Chandigarh — Rohan (21), Sumit (22), and Mohit (19) — were dhol players by profession and had procured the weapons due to an old rivalry with local residents.

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