Billionaire Nirav Modi Arrested in London

Guwahati: Fugitive Indian Billionaire Nirav Modi was arrested on Tuesday evening in Central London and will be presented in the Westminster magistrates court today.

Billionaire Modi was accused of major financial irregularities running into thousands of crores linked to the Punjab National Bank.

According to the Metropolitan Police, Nirav Modi was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in Holborn and will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

Earlier, Modi's bungalow situated in Maharashtra's Alibaug has been demolished on March 8 with a huge quantity of explosives.

The demolition was taken up following a Bombay High Court order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by non-profit Shamburaje Yuva Kranti in 2009 demanding action against illegal bungalows, hotels and resorts violating the high-tide and low-tide zones in small villages dotting the beaches of Raigad.

Billionaire Nirav Modi is one of the main accused in the 13000 crore Punjab National Bank scam along with his uncle Mehul Choksi. Modi had initially approached the High Court to stop the demolition as the bungalow was among the properties attached by the Enforcement Directorate after the PNB scam surfaced.

Modi's extradition case is likely to follow a similar pattern of that of controversial businessman Vijay Mallya and the liquor baron's extradition was ordered by the magistrates' court and home secretary Sajid Javid and is now in the appeals court where a judge will rule whether the appeal will be heard or not.

A top court in the UK issued an arrest warrant of Nirav Modi after British Home Secretary Sajid Javid certified India's request to extradite him to face charges of financial irregularities in the Rs. 13, 500 crore PNB fraud case.

The British authorities had confirmed the presence of Nirav Modi in the UK in mid-2018 and recently a video released by The Daily Telegraph figured it out that he was walking in the streets of London and responding to queries by its media personals with 'no comment.'

He was tracked down to a three-bedroom flat occupying half of a floor in an upscale tower block of luxury apartments, where rent is estimated to be around Rs. 15, 49, 484 a month.

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