Hannah Foster case: Delhi High Court dismisses Kohlis extradition petition

The Delhi High Court today dismissed a petition filed by Maninder Pal Singh Kohli challenging his extradition to the United Kingdom (UK) in connection with the Hannah Foster rape case.

New Delhi, July 6 : The Delhi High Court today dismissed a petition filed by Maninder Pal Singh Kohli challenging his extradition to the United Kingdom (UK) in connection with the Hannah Foster rape case.

The court had temporarily stayed the extradition of Kohli, a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), till it disposed of his petition. Kohli has been accused of raping and murdering British teenager Hannah Foster four years ago.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau had said that there was sufficient prima facie evidence to allow extradition of the fugitive criminal to the UK.

The court found it a fit case to extradite him. Kohli had been continuously evading arrest after the incident, till his arrest on July 14, 2004 at Kalimpong in West Bengal.

Hannah Foster's phone records which revealed that she had made desperate phone calls on police helpline numbers on the night of her murder on March 14 2003 were also taken into account by the court.

The court also took into account the scientific and forensic evidence submitted before it by the External Affairs Ministry which indicated the presence of Foster's blood sample in a delivery van of the Hazzelwood Food Company which was allegedly driven by Kohli.

Foster's parents visited India in February with the motive of expediting an early extradition of the accused to the UK.

Hannah's parents, Trevor and Hilary Foster, had also written to President A P J Abdul alam, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and former Chief Justice of India Y.K. Sabharwal to cut short the judicial delay.

Kohli, a truck driver in Britain, accused of abducting, raping and killing Hannah had fled the country two days after her body was found, but was nabbed from a remote village bordering Nepal.

Hannah's body was found on the outskirts of Southampton in March 2003.

ANI