London court grants bail to Surat blasts accused

Mohammed Hanif Umarji Patel alias Tiger Hanif, one of the accused in the 1993 Surat bomb blasts case, has been granted bail by a court in London, ahead of an extradition hearing on July 19.

Hanif, 49, is wanted by Surat police in connection with bomb blasts in Surat in 1993, which killed an 8-year-old school girl and left 12 other people wounded. Hanif, against whom a red corner notice was issued by Interpol, was arrested from his house in Halliwell, England in February this year.

He was being kept in police custody, pending the outcome of an extradition hearing. Rejecting an appeal from the English law enforcement agencies, which argued that Hanif should be kept in custody till his extradition hearing on July 19, the London High Court ruled that he could be released on bail.

While Hanif and his family members allege that he will be tortured if extradited to India, the extradition hearing will take place as scheduled on July 19.

This is the same case in which former state minister Mohammed Surti was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2008. Eleven other people were also pronounced guilty by a court in Surat.