Barrack No.12, Arthur Road Jail – New address of Nirav Modi when extradited

The Arthur Road jail in Mumbai is ready to lodge fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, as and when he is deported to India, a jail official said on Friday (February 26).

Modi will get three square meters of personal space and will be provided with a cotton mat, pillow, bedsheet and blanket, the official said. The prison department had also assured adequate light, ventilation and storage for personal belongings.

A United Kingdom court on Thursday (February 25) cleared the extradition of Modi, who is sought by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate in a ₹13,500-crore bank loan fraud case.

The 49-year-old fugitive is likely to be kept in one of the three cells of barrack number 12, which is a high security barrack. “Preparations for lodging Nirav Modi in the jail have been completed and the prison cell is ready for him, whenever he is extradited,” the jail official is said to have told PTI.

Also read: UK court says fugitive Nirav Modi can be extradited to India

UK District Judge Samuel Goozee in the Westminster Magistrates’ Court said while delivering the judgment on Thursday that the case against Modi was strong and he agreed with the submissions made by the Indian government.

Goozee observed in his ruling that there is no evidence to show that if extradited Nirav Modi will not get justice in India. There were clear links between Nirav Modi and other connivers, including bank officials in clearing Letters of Undertaking (LoUs)that facilitated huge unpaid loans.

India’s most wanted jeweller was time and again denied bail in London due to the seriousness of the allegations against him. He has been in a London prison since March 2019.