The Portuguese court has, meanwhile, extended Paramjit Singh Pamma’s detention till February 15. He was arrested last month while he was in Algarve region of Portugal on a holiday with his family. He had taken political asylum in the UK in 1999 and has since been in the European nation.
LISBON – The Indian government’s team, comprising officials from the Punjab and Jaipur police, submitted all documents for seeking the extradition of Paramjit Singh Pamma in a Lisbon court yesterday. The documents were submitted to the General Public Attorney Office in Lisbon, which will now send these to the Minister of Justice in Portugal.
The Portuguese court has, meanwhile, extended Pamma’s detention till February 15. He was arrested last month while he was in Algarve region of Portugal on a holiday with his family. He had taken political asylum in the UK in 1999 and has since been in the European nation.
Sources in the Punjab government told The Tribune that the documents submitted include the investigations into the cases of murder and under the Arms Act registered against him by the Punjab and Jaipur police, respectively. An assurance from the Indian government that Pamma, if extradited to India, will not be awarded capital punishment or a sentence of more than 25 years, had also been submitted.
Though government officials are sure that they have a water tight case, the Minister of Justice, Portugal will decide if there is a case for extradition, and if so, the defense counsel will be asked to study the Indian government’s plea and then contest the claims.
Officials dealing with the extradition case in Punjab said the state government’s three-member team, comprising Patiala range DIG Balkar Singh Sidhu and SAS Nagar SP Ashish Kapoor, had reached the Portuguese capital last week. The Ministry of External Affairs has hired a local law firm in Lisbon to initiate the extradition proceedings.
The Indian government’s plea before the court is that Pamma had been declared a proclaimed offender in the case of murder of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat chief Rulda Singh in Patiala in 2009. They will also plead that upon the Indian government’s request to the UK government after the sensational murder, a few Sikh activists in the UK, including Pamma, had been rounded up.
Sources said Pamma was being represented by lawyer Manuel Luis Ferreira, who had also contested the extradition plea of gangster Abu Salem from Portugal a few years ago.
