A PHARMACIST wanted in India to stand trial on murder charges for allegedly targeting his ex-wife's family in Hyderabad is fighting his extradition at a hearing in London this week.
Ajith Kumar Mupparapu, 45, appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) laid out the case on behalf of the Indian authorities.
The British Indian faces separate allegations of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to murder, the court was told.
The four incidents, all occurring in 2023, involved the accused targeting the family of Sirisha Muttavarapu after she filed for divorce.
"The primary incident is a conspiracy to murder his wife and her family in India by arsenic poisoning. The second is a conspiracy to murder his father-in-law using succinylcholine injections. The third is an attempt by the accused to hire contract killers in India to kill his father-in-law. The fourth was the hiring of co-conspirators to kill his father-in-law in what was meant to look like a road accident," the court was told.
Sirisha Muttavarapu's mother died following the alleged arsenic poisoning in July 2023, with Mupparapu being sought by Telangana state authorities as part of their investigation into the death.
His lawyers argued against extradition on the grounds of insufficient evidence and fears that their client could face torture if returned to India.
The hearing is expected to conclude this week, with judgment to be handed down at a later date.
(PTI)
