NEW DELHI: The Government has made a last-ditch attempt to Secours the deportation of alleged drug-dealer, money launderer and Harshad Mehta associate, Niranjan J Shah, who is currently behind bars in Dubai, It has assured the authorities of the United Arab Emirates that the financial claims made against Shah by a UAE resident should be assisted by the Indian Government should these be proved in a court of law.

Despite this assurance, highly placed official sources said that the chances of bringing Shah back 10 the country to face a host of criminal charges pending against him appeared rather bleak. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is said to be of the view that the case lodged against Shah by a Dubai based resident for alleged normalization of dues amounting to 50,000 dirhams had been “deliberately cooked up” to enable him to remain in Dubai. The Government here has been hamstrung in its efforts to deport Shah since there is no extradition treaty between India and UAE Only once, in 1984, had the Dubai authentic agreed to allow seven persons who had hijacked an Indian Airlines plane to Pakistan and then to the UAE to leave that country. Subsequently, the Government had been frustrated in its attempts to deport former Bofors: agent Win Chaddha from Dubai.

A warrant of arrest against Shah was issued on January 7 this year. The warrant was issued by the Special Court of Justice S.N.Variava in Bombay at the instance of the CBI. Shah’s young son, Vaisal, had been kidnapped and murdered in Bombay in July last year.

Investigating officials claimed Shah and his former wife Roma, had gone to Toronto, Canada, in 1990 where they stayed with Munish Shah and his father Has mukh Shah. Here Roma apparently fell in love and carried on a relationship with Munish. Then, in February 1991, Roma decided to leave Niranjan and start living with Munish in Toronto, Both Niranjan and Munish started divorce proceedings against their respective wives.

Interestingly, even as Roma and Munish were living together, Niranjan carried on his business transactions with Munish and his father, the officials said.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 16, 1993