RAMANATHAPURAM

Mohammad Younis, 67, a Pakistani national arrested by the district police at Erwadi ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Rameswaram in July 2017 and lodged in Puzhal Central Prison, Chennai, was twice taken to Tihar jail in New Delhi to get ‘consular access’ to facilitate his repatriation.

The district police arrested Younis and two locals when they were making arrangements to ferry Younis back to Sri Lanka. The accused had clandestinely landed at Ammapettai in Thanjavur district from Sri Lanka in May 2017.

Inquiries revealed that he was ‘deputed’ by a drug trafficker in Colombo for drug trafficking. After landing at Ammapettai, Younis visited Chennai and travelled to north India before reaching Erwadi.

On learning that he was languishing in jail for more than a year after his arrest with no legal assistance, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) arranged legal aid for him and took up his case with the National Legal Services Authority.

After the NLSA informed the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi, Younis was taken to Tihar jail from Puzhal Central Prison in November 2018 and again in February this year to enable Pakistani authorities to check his nationality. The authorities had contacted his son and daughter in Pakistan and informed them of the imprisonment of their father, officials said.

As per the terms of agreement on ‘consular access’ signed between India and Pakistan in 2008, consular access should be provided to all Pakistani prisoners lodged in Indian jails to enable Pakistani authorities to establish their nationality and facilitate their repatriation, the officials said.

Meanwhile, Judicial Magistrate R. Radhakrishnan, after the end of arguments in the case on Tuesday, reserved the orders for May 21. During the arguments, the accused admitted to the guilt and offered to serve the sentence in the event of conviction.