Vijay Mallya has joined the club of high profile Indians taking shelter in the UK at a time they are wanted by authorities in India.
The iron gates at the king-size countryside home of Vijay Mallya in England, firmly closed to the media, open mostly to visitors in fancy cars.
An Indian couple decided to try their luck anyway. They have a connection, they insist.
Prabhakar Kaza and his wife Geeta are retired employees of the State Bank of India, which is owed 1,500 crores loaned to Mr Mallya's collapsed airline Kingfisher.
They live 10 miles away from Mr Mallya's home in Tewin village, North of London.
The State Bank leads a group of 17 banks trying to recover nearly Rs 9,000 crore in debts from Mr Mallya.
"It is an emotional issue for us. We draw pension. We understand he borrowed for business but now it is time to pay back." said Prabhakar Kaza.
Far away from his troubles in India, Mr Mallya is known to locals as "VJ", the "rich man from India" who bought a house from Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton and has a fleet of expensive cars.
"I have seen him around only once not long ago but I keep hearing of him and his love for cars and speed'' said Antony Bill, who lives in Tewin village.
Not far from Queen Hoo road where Mr Mallya's mansion is, Pradeep Kumar runs a convenience store. "His staff often comes here to buy stuff. There is some construction work going on in the property. They tell me interesting stories of his riches and lifestyle." said Mr Kumar.
Vijay Mallya has joined the club of high profile and controversial Indians taking shelter in the UK at a time they are wanted by authorities in India.
Britain offers easy access to exotic locations in Europe and extradition from here is a long and complicated process.
Others wanted by Indian authorities are Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi and Tiger Hanif, accused in the 1993 Gujarat bomb attacks.
Mr Mallya owns one of the teams in the cricket league founded by Mr Modi.
An Indian couple decided to try their luck anyway. They have a connection, they insist.
Prabhakar Kaza and his wife Geeta are retired employees of the State Bank of India, which is owed 1,500 crores loaned to Mr Mallya's collapsed airline Kingfisher.
They live 10 miles away from Mr Mallya's home in Tewin village, North of London.
The State Bank leads a group of 17 banks trying to recover nearly Rs 9,000 crore in debts from Mr Mallya.
"It is an emotional issue for us. We draw pension. We understand he borrowed for business but now it is time to pay back." said Prabhakar Kaza.
Far away from his troubles in India, Mr Mallya is known to locals as "VJ", the "rich man from India" who bought a house from Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton and has a fleet of expensive cars.
"I have seen him around only once not long ago but I keep hearing of him and his love for cars and speed'' said Antony Bill, who lives in Tewin village.
Not far from Queen Hoo road where Mr Mallya's mansion is, Pradeep Kumar runs a convenience store. "His staff often comes here to buy stuff. There is some construction work going on in the property. They tell me interesting stories of his riches and lifestyle." said Mr Kumar.
Vijay Mallya has joined the club of high profile and controversial Indians taking shelter in the UK at a time they are wanted by authorities in India.
Britain offers easy access to exotic locations in Europe and extradition from here is a long and complicated process.
Others wanted by Indian authorities are Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi and Tiger Hanif, accused in the 1993 Gujarat bomb attacks.
Mr Mallya owns one of the teams in the cricket league founded by Mr Modi.
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