India suspects Denmark of stalling on gunrunner case

Danish authorities reportedly want India to present a new proposal for how to try and potentially imprison Niels Holck without him ending in an India prison

Yesterday's talks between Danish and Indian officials on Danish gunrunner Niels Holck failed to make any headway, according to the Indian media.

Holck, known in India as Kim Davy, is accused of dropping weapons from a plane for rebels in Purulia in the Indian state of West Bengal in 1995. While his accomplices were caught, Holck escaped back to Denmark. Attempts by the Indian authorities to have him extradited have failed after Danish courts ruled that Holck risked being tortured in an Indian prison.

India Today reported that the Danish delegation, headed by Justice Ministry permanent secretary Jens-Christian Bülow, has asked the Indian authorities to make a new proposal on how to try Holck and imprison him if found guilty.

According to India Today, sources in the Indian delegation suspect that Denmark is using delaying tactics.

India has made assurances that Holck can serve his sentence in Denmark if he is found guilty by an Indian court. It has also offered to try Holck in a special court set up at the Indian Embassy in Copenhagen, a proposal that Holck supports.

But the reports suggest that the Danish authorities are in favour of neither option and want India to present a fresh proposal instead.

The impasse on how to try and imprison Holck has created a rift between Denmark and India. India froze relations with Denmark last year after the government chose not to appeal the Eastern High Court’s decision that Holck could not be extradited.

And last month, India also tightened the requirements for Danes seeking tourist visas, though Indian authorities deny it had anything to do with the Holck case.

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