03 October,2011 08:35 AM IST | | MiD DAY Correspondent
A team, including a cyber expert, will soon go to London in this regard
Following the arrest of Ravi Shankaran, the main accused in the Navy War Room leak case, the CBI will now send its team, including a cyber expert, to London to assist UK's law officers to seek his extradition.
A Westminster court has fixed 10 October as the next date for hearing on India's plea for extradition of 46-year-old Shankaran, who was arrested in London last year on the basis of Interpol Red Corner notice secured against him by the CBI.
Shankaran, whose passport was revoked by the Ministry of External Affairs on 1 May, 2006, has been evading the arrest for over five years now. As the case was handed over to the CBI, Shankaran, kin of former Naval Chief Arun Prakash, had fled the country.
Sources in the CBI said a team, along with the cyber expert who helped the probe agency in forensic examination of computers seized from the war room, would be sent to London to assist the Crown Prosecution Services, which is pleading the case on behalf of India in the London court.
Shankaran is facing the extradition trial for allegedly committing cheating and forgery. The Official Secrets Act, however, had not been invoked while seeking his return from London as it was not admissible under the UK's legal system. His counsel had raised doubts about an email with an attachment of Sir Creek sent by Commander Virender Rana to a person called Vic Branson of Inmaty company in Belgium, which they claimed was owned by Shankaran.
The court-approved forensic experts, as quoted by the counsel of the accused, had claimed that the email by Vic Branson to Rana had no date and time and an independent court-approved expert had confirmed that it is not possible to create an email, type 11 words, attach eight documents and then save it all in twou00a0 seconds only.
