Thai court orders repatriation of Dawood henchman to India, dumps Pak claim
09 Aug 2018
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In a big victory for India, a criminal court in Thailand has awarded repatriation of Dawood Ibrahim henchman and a key accused in the attack on rival gangster Chotta Rajan, trashing the claims of Pakistan for custody of the accused.
The Thai court has ruled that Sayyed Muzakkir Muddassar Hussain alias Mohammad Saleem alias Munna Jhingra, the key associate of underworld don Chhota Shakeel, is an Indian citizen and will be repatriated to India.
Pakistan has been claiming right to repatriate Jhingra and has been embroiled in a dispute over the citizenship of the Dawood aide. Jhingra, an under-trial, has been in a Bangkok prison since September 2000.
But for the strong claim made by India, Munna Jhingra would have been deported to Pakistan after the completion of his sentence under a prisoner transfer treaty.
In fact, Jhingra received amnsty under Thai laws during the course of the case and was to be released in December 2016. However, he was not extradited since the matter was sub-judice.
Jhingra has his second wife and children in Pakistan, a fact that was referred to as proof of his Pakistani nationality by the Pakistani witnesses. Pakistan used about 41 witnesses to try to establish Munna’s Pakistani origin
However, India’s claims on Jhingra were backed by the Crime Branch of Mumbai Police submitting dossiers to the Thai court.
Jhingra studied in Ismail Yusuf College in Jogeshwari and was married to a woman in Mumbai and has children with her. His first family still lives in Jogeshwari, near Mumbai.
After being released on bail in 1997, Jhingra reportedly fled to Dubai and then to Karachi in 1999 to join the D-gang run by Dawood Ibrahim.
After lying low for few years, he was sent to Thailand and assigned with the task of eliminating Chhota Rajan.
Jhingra was arrested in 2002 and charged with attempted murder and murder by Bangkok police. He was sentenced to 14 years in jail by a Bangkok court.
When India moved the Thailand court to seek his extradition, Pakistan staked claim leading to a prolonged legal tussle.
The court has now upheld the fingerprint evidence submitted by India, which proved beyond reasonable doubt that Jhingra is an Indian national. The Thai court also pulled up the lawyer appearing for Pakistan for submitting “concocted” evidence.
After verdict was read out, Jhingra reportedly became violent and verbally abused the judge. A Pakistani embassy officer present at the hearing allegedly displayed similar behaviour.
Pakistan now has 30 days to file an appeal, failing which Thailand has to repatriate the prisoner to India within 90 days.
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