Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Peter Hastrup, alleged to be the “real mastermind” and the “original plotter” in Purulia arms drop case on Wednesday was appeared before the East Copenhagen Court, a TV channel reported.
The Danish businessman, made his first ever public appreance in the court. Hastrup is known as the “mystery witness” of Niels Christien Nielsen alias Kim Davy, the main accused in the Purulia arms drop case.
It is believed that the first meeting of the Purulia arms drop took place at Hastrup’s villa. It is said that Peter Bleach, another accused in the case got first inquiry for weapons from Peter Hastrup.
Bleach, a British ex-Special Air Service operative, was arrested soon after the arms drop by Indian authorities but was released in 2004 on presidential pardon.
Hastrup is believed to have alerted Danish intelligence about the arms drop.
Kim Davy, the prime accused in Purulia arms drop case recently claimed to a news channel that then Congress government led by PV Narasimha Rao had plotted the operation to destablise then Jyoti Basu-led Communist government in West Bengal.
“India`s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing planned the operation with the help of its British counterpart MI-5 on directions”, he said.
The government of India had dismissed Davy`s claim and termed it as “far fetched".
“Very obviously, it is a tactic to complicate the whole issue and wants to further delay his extradition to India from Denmark,” government sources claimed.
"The then central government (Congress) had no intention to destabilise the Jyoti Basu government by arming people opposed to it," government sources said adding, “"Otherwise the central government would not have approached the Danish government for his extradition."
A lower court in Denmark has ordered the extradition of Kim Davy to India following which he approached the higher court in that country, challenging the lower court order.
The Denmark government wanted India to ensure that Davy would not be given death sentence if he was extradited, which was agreed upon.
