CBI team in Denmark, India hopes Kim Davy will be extradited

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) A CBI team reached Denmark
Monday to assist local authorities in the case against Purulia
arms drop case prime accused Kim Davy in the Danish High Court
which is expected to pronounce its verdict on Thursday on
extradition of Kim Davy to India to face trial.
Ahead of the verdict, the Indian Government is hopeful
that the High Court will clear the decks for Davy's
extradition to India.
A two-member team of Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI), India's premier investigation agency, is in Copenhagen
to assist authorities there with the facts and evidence
collected against Davy. Though India is not a party to the
case in the Danish court, the role of the team is limited to
helping the prosecutors there with necessary material
evidence.
A five-member constitutional bench of the Denmark High
Court is hearing the plea of the Denmark government which
challenged a lower court order against the extradition of Davy
to India.
"Authorities in Denmark has been pursuing the case
very seriously as it has been hanging for very long.
Considering the gravity of the case, the High Court also
constituted a five member constitutional bench which is
expected to pronounce its verdict on May 19," an official said
Monday, adding "we hope the order will come in favour of
Davy's extradition".
The decision to despatch the CBI team was taken days
after Davy and one of the convicted persons in the case, Peter
Bleach, had alleged that the Purulia arms drop operation was
planned by the Indian government and its intelligence agencies
to destabilise the Left Front government in West Bengal.
The government had, however, quickly denied the
allegation saying it is mischievous and aimed at misleading
the prosecuting agency and the court in Denmark which are
seized with the matter of his extradition to India to face
trial.
The CBI had registered the case on December 28, 1995
after sophisticated arms including AK-47 assault rifles,
anti-tank grenades and other weapons were dropped from a
foreign plane in the fields of Purulia in West Bengal on the
night of December 17, 1995.
An Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against Kim
Davy in 1996 on the request of the agency.
Since he was traced to Denmark in 2001, efforts
continued to extradite him to India even though there was no
extradition treaty between the two countries.
The Danish government wanted India to ensure that Davy
would not be given death sentence if he is extradited, which
was agreed to.
The CBI had claimed that it has "clinching" evidence
against Davy's alleged "act of terror" and is making all
efforts to bring him to India to face trial in the case.