Mumbai: Arthur Road jail here has kept a special cell ready to lodge fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. A UK court on Thursday ruled in favour of his extradition, The New Indian Express (TNIE) reported quoting PTI.
Once Nirav Modi is brought to Mumbai, he will be kept in one of the three cells of barrack number 12, which is a high-security barrack, a jail official was quoted as saying.
“Preparations for lodging Nirav Modi in the jail have been completed and the prison cell is ready for him, whenever he is extradited,” he said.
The 49-year-old jeweller has lost his nearly two-year-long legal battle against extradition on all grounds. He has been repeatedly denied bail due to the seriousness of the allegations against him and remains behind bars in a London prison since his arrest in March 2019.
The prison department has reportedly assured that Modi will be kept in a cell, where the number of detainees will be few. If lodged in the barrack, Modi likely to get three square meters of personal space, where a cotton mat, pillow, bedsheet and blanket will be provided, the official was quoted as saying.
The prison department had also assured adequate light, ventilation and storage for personal belongings, he said.
