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Purulia arms drop case: Difference between revisions
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== Arrest and sentencing == | == Arrest and sentencing == | ||
The crew of the aircraft consisted of five Latvian citizens and Peter Bleach, a | The crew of the aircraft consisted of five Latvian citizens and Peter Bleach, a United Kingdom|British citizen and an ex Special Air Service operative turned mercenary who was based in Yorkshire and involved in arms dealing.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} (However, Annie Machon, the former MI5 officer, accuses Bleach of being an MI6 agent in her book "Spies, Lies and Whistleblowers". In numerous interviews, Bleach has always evaded questions on this subject and has declined to answer questions on his military background.) They were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment while alleged crime boss|kingpin Niels Holck|Niels Christian Nielsen (aka Kim Peter Davy), a Denmark|Danish citizen and member of the Ananda Marga group,<ref>[http://www.nisat.org/publications/armsfixers/Chapter2.html The Day it Rained Arms in India], Chapter 2 of [http://www.nisat.org/publications/armsfixers/ The Arms Fixers: Controlling the Brokers and Shipping Agents]</ref> escaped. Later, an Interpol red notice was issued against him. Following the intervention of Russian authorities, the Latvian crew (who gained Russian citizenship while in Indian custody) were later pardoned and released in 2000. An appeal has been submitted by the pilots lawyer before the Calcutta High Court in March 2000 challenging the trial results and the judgement but it is still pending. Peter Bleach, too, was released on 4 February 2004, via a President of India|presidential pardon, allegedly due to persistent British Government pressure. In 2007 Kim Davy was traced by Denmark authorities and on April 9, 2010 Danish government decided to extradite Kim Davy to India but Danish authorities failed to successfully defend their decision in the Danish high court. The court, therefore, refused extradition of Kim Davy to India. Further, Danish authorities decided not to appeal the high court judgement to the Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-08/india/29751081_1_kim-davy-danish-authorities-danish-court | work=The Times Of India | title=Danish court decision on Kim Davy can encourage terrorists: India | date=8 July 2011}}</ref> | ||
Peter Bleach was not an SAS operative. He was a Lance Corporal in the Intelligence Corps initially serving at 7 Armoured Bde in Germany, then in N Ireland. These were desk bound activities. (From personal conversations with him over 16 years ago. | Peter Bleach was not an SAS operative. He was a Lance Corporal in the Intelligence Corps initially serving at 7 Armoured Bde in Germany, then in N Ireland. These were desk bound activities. (From personal conversations with him over 16 years ago. | ||