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London sees march for swift extradition of Delhi murder suspect
Several people joined a march in London on Saturday to seek justice for a woman allegedly murdered in 2009 by an Indian student, now based in Delhi, whose extradition to Britain is being sought for the past five years.
Several people joined a march in London on Saturday to seek justice for a woman allegedly murdered in 2009 by an Indian student, now based in Delhi, whose extradition to Britain is being sought for the past five years.
Labour MP Stella Creasy led the march as part of International Women’s Day in Walthamstow, where between March and May 2009 three women were assaulted and raped. On May 30, 2009, Michelle Samaraweera, 35, was raped and murdered.
Creasy has written to Indian envoy Navtej Sarna and sought his intervention to expedite the case in Indian courts to extradite Aman Vyas, suspected by Scotland Yard to have been involved in a string of late-night attacks. He has been on bail since 2011.
People joining the march held placards seeking justice for Samaraweera. Messages from the deceased’s family were read out.
The extradition is reported to have been delayed for several reasons, including counsel misplacing documents.
The Indian court hearing the case reportedly rejected an application by Vyas’ lawyers in 2012 to dismiss it. Creasy and Samarweera’s family are disappointed the case has dragged on and that Vyas had not been brought to justice.
Vyas is also alleged to have raped two women aged 59 and 46, and attacked another woman in her thirties.
Creasy told The Times she was astounded it had taken so long to extradite a suspect in such serious cases. She said: “It’s worrying about whether they (the Indian authorities) are serious about dealing with this issue.”
