Hong Kong court approves extradition of resident Ramanjit Singh to India for alleged role in notorious jailbreak

A Hong Kong court has approved a resident’s extradition to India for his alleged involvement in a jailbreak from a maximum-security prison there almost six years ago, bringing the number of charges he could face in his native country to 20.

Ramanjit Singh, also known as Romi, was put on a global watch list by Interpol after New Delhi accused him of jumping bail having orchestrated a notorious jailbreak in the northern state of Punjab in November 2016, as well as a series of terrorist attacks and political killings in the South Asian country.

Eastern Court ruled in 2019 the 33-year-old Hong Kong permanent resident could face trial in India, subject to the chief executive’s approval, on 18 charges relating to possession of firearms, assisting an offender and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

While the presiding magistrate was not satisfied at the time Singh could be extradited on three more escape charges, an appeal judge remitted Delhi’s application to the court below for consideration after finding errors in law in arriving at the initial decision.

On Friday, Magistrate Norton Pang Leung-ting ruled the Indian government had satisfied requirements of the Fugitive Offenders (India) Order and gathered enough evidence to try Singh on two common law offences relating to escape from lawful custody.

Singh’s legal counsel had argued there was insufficient or no evidence that the six inmates said to have escaped in the jailbreak were lawfully detained.