India to extradite Bangladeshi national to UK for murder

India is set to extradite a Bangladeshi national wanted in the UK on murder charges within the next 10 days. Indian Home Affairs Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi made a reference to the case following his last week’s visit to the UK as “a sign of progressive relations in terms of extradition treaties between the two countries.” Extradition was one of the central issues during the India-UK Home Affairs Dialogue in London on Monday. “We are on the verge of extraditing an individual from India to the UK in the next week or 10 days,” Mehrishi said. While the minister did not mention the name of the individual, some senior Indian officials with knowledge of the case have revealed that the man was Mohammad Abdul Shakur, a Bangladeshi national. Shakur is accused of murdering his wife Juli Begum and two daughters in the UK in 2007 before fleeing the country. According to official sources, Shakur was arrested in Assam and his repatriation to the UK has been delayed due to an ongoing court case in New Delhi. The case is under process of being wrapped up to make way for his extradition, the sources added. The UK Home Office was unable to make any comment on the case at this stage. “We only comment directly on the extraditions from UK, as extradition to UK is a matter of the requested state,” a UK Home Office spokesperson said. According to the London Metropolitan Police, Shakur and Juli tied knots in Bangladesh and the latter returned to the UK a few days following their marriage. A few months later, Shakur followed her wife as she sponsored his entry to UK. However, their marriage was not a happy one as Shakur had been forcing Juli for her assistance in getting a permanent residency permit in the UK. Juli’s sister came to visit her in London on January 9, 2007, but found the house locked. The next day, she called the police who broke into the apartment and found the bodies of Juli and her two daughters. With the process of extradition coming to a close on the Indian side, Shakur is likely to stand trial for murder in the UK courts in the coming months.