Delhi: Tihar cops rapped for jailing Agusta accused with hardened criminals

A Delhi court on Thursday pulled up the Tihar Jail authorities for lodging Christian Michel James, accused in the Agusta Westland chopper scam, in the same cell as a hardened criminal, saying such instances give a bad name to the country in the international press.

The court also cited the instance of a United Kingdom court denying the extradition request for arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari on similar grounds.

Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of Rouse Avenue Court made the observations while dealing with an application filed by Michel, alleging attempts to poison him inside his cell by a fellow inmate.

Earlier this month, the courthad sought a report from the jail authorities on how Michel, a UK citizen, was kept in the same cell as Shahnawaz, an accused in cases criminal cases. According to a report filed in the matter, the Tihar authorities had said that there were 41 complaints of “prison misconduct” against Shahnawaz.

Irked over the report filed by the jail superintendent, the courttold the jail superintendent, “Look at the media image of Tihar jail...for example the Ankit Gujjar case where he was killed for denying extortion money to jail officials...a UK court has denied extradition of Sanjay Bhandari due to the unsafe conditions in Tihar jail”.

The report said that in 2019, an inquiry was conducted after Michel complained to the British High Commission that he had been lodged with a dangerous criminal. The report concluded that there was no threat to Michel’s life.

Now, Michel and Shahnawaz are lodged in different jails, and the British citizen is “safe in jail”, the report said. Shahnawaz remained in the same ward as Michel for 10 months in 2019, before he was shifted to another jail, the report added.

But the court asked, “Won’t keeping Shahnawaz, a person with nine cases lodged against him, including one under the Gangsters Act of Uttar Pradesh, with a high-risk foreign prisoner like Christian James be safe?”.

Citing examples of a UK court rejecting Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition request and 2021 Ankit Gujjar case, the court said, “You (jail authorities) should have a humane conduct. You can’t keep hardened criminals with him (James). He is accused in a money laundering case and is yet to be proved guilty”.

Taking the report on record, the court directed Michel’s lawyer, Aljo K Joseph, to file a separate application if there were any other grievances.

The court had earlier taken cognisance of the “grave” allegations made by Michel on attempts being made to poison him in jail.

Michel who allegedly played a middleman in the Agusta Westland deal and faces charges under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was extradited from the UAE in December 2018. He remained in custody until the Delhi high court was granted bail in this March.

He was released after furnishing a personal bond of ₹5 lakh and one surety of the same amount. Michel had earlier told the trial court that Delhi was like a “larger prison” for him, as his family could not visit him, and that he feared for his life outside jail.