London:
The trial of Iqbal Mirchi, the brother of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, begins in London today. He is charged with threatening to kill his associate, Nadeem Kader, who they say called off the marriage between his daughter and Mirchi's son.
Mirchi was arrested in London on October 13. He was granted bail by a court in London on October 18. He was reportedly released shortly after getting bail. After his arrest, he had been remanded to judicial custody till October 20. It is still unclear why his bail hearing was pre-poned.
He has been living in a six-bedroom mansion in London for more than 20 years now. The Scotland Yard deeply investigated Mirchi between 1995 and 1999 when the Red Corner Notice against him was at its peak. That investigation, however, did not yield much.
India, meanwhile, plans to extradite Mirchi and says he handles Dawood Ibrahim's narcotics trade which pumps money into the underworld don's terror activities. He is also accused in a few extortion cases and nabbing him could give investigators greater insight on Dawood's operations.
However, sources in the Mumbai police too say that with no new evidence against Mirchi, chances of him being extradited remain slim.
He acquired the moniker Mirchi because his family originally traded red chilli powder.