Canada allows extradition of Indian murder convict

Malkiat Bhandol was convicted by an Indian court of being part of killing in Ludhiana.

A Canadian court has allowed the extradition of Indian origin Malkiat Singh Bhandol who escaped the country to avoid sentence for a murder more than three decades ago.

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A British Columbia Court of Appeals upheld an order of Bhandol's extradition. The Court observed that the government was aware that he had made a "positive contribution as a citizen" during the years he lived in Canada.

Bhandol was convicted in 1975 by an Indian court of being part of a revenge killing in Ludhiana, in which the victim's head, arms and legs were severed, and several other people were wounded. Bhandol denied involvement.

Bhandol fled to Canada in 1978 while on bail. He settled in Osoyoos, British Columbia, operated a fruit farm and lived what the Canadian courts acknowledged was a "model life".

He was arrested by Canadian police in 2004 after a request made by their Indian counterparts.