Mumbai: A day after United Kingdom's Westminster Magistrates' Court Cleared the decks for extradition of diamantaire Nirav Modi wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, officials at Mumbai's Arthur Road jail have said that the prison authorities have kept a special cell ready to lodge the fugitive businessman.
As per reports, after Nirav Modi's extradition to India, he will be brought to Mumbai where he will be lodged in one of the three cells of barrack number 12. The cell comes under high security zone of the Arthur Road jail.
"Preparations for lodging Nirav Modi in the jail have been completed and the prison cell is ready for him, whenever he is extradited," an official of Arthur Road jail close to the development told news agency PTI.
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Even the Maharashtra prisons department had in 2019 informed the Central government about the status of the Arthur Road jail and its facilities for lodging Nirav Modi.
"The Centre had sought information about it from the state home department as extradition proceedings for Nirav Modi had then advanced before the Westminster Magistrates Court in the UK," the official said. The Maharashtra government had submitted a letter of assurance to the Centre explaining about the facilities, which they can provide inside the prison.
It is also reported that that the fugitive businessman will kept in a cell where there will be less number of detainees. The official also said that Nirav Modi, if lodged in the barrack, will get three square meters of personal space, where a cotton mat, pillow, bedsheet and blanket will be provided to him.
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The prison department had also assured adequate light, ventilation and storage for personal belongings.
In a major setback to fugitive diamond merchant, UK court on Thursday ordered his extradition to India after accepted the prima facie evidence against him for money laundering. The development came after almost a two-year long legal battle.
Nirav Modi was arrested on an extradition warrant on March 19, 2019 in the UK and is also accused of money laundering, conspiring to destroy evidence and intimidating witnesses.