UK-based pharmacist fights extradition to India on murder charges

A UK-based pharmacist wanted in India to stand trial on charges of murder for targeting his ex-wife's family in Hyderabad is fighting his extradition at a hearing in London this week.

Ajith Kumar Mupparapu, 45, appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court here as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) laid out the case on behalf of the Indian authorities.

The Indian-origin British citizen is wanted to stand trial in relation to separate allegations of murder, attempted murder and/or conspiracy to murder, the court was told.

The four separate incidents, all in 2023, involved the accused's targeting of the family of Sirisha Muttavarapu after she filed for divorce.

"The primary incident is a conspiracy to murder his wife and her family in India by arsenic poisoning. The second incident is a conspiracy to murder his father-in-law, by co-conspirators using succinycholine injections.

“The third incident is an attempt by the RP (requested person) to hire contract killers in India to kill his father-in-law. The fourth incident was the hiring of co-conspirators to kill his father-in-law in what was meant to look like a road accident,” the UK court was told.

Sirisha Muttavarapu’s mother died in the wake of the alleged arsenic poisoning in July 2023, with Mupparapu being sought by Telangana authorities as part of their investigations into the death.

His lawyers have argued against the extradition on the grounds of a lack of sufficient evidence and also fears of torture if the accused is sent to India.

The hearing in the case is expected to conclude in London this week, with a judgment to be handed down at a later date.