Extradition matters of 1995 Purulia arms case Kim Davy resolved, says Denmark PM

New Delhi, Jan 19 (UNI) Denmark Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen said on Saturday that the issues concerning the extradition of Niels Holck alias Kim Davy, the prime accused in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case, to India, has been 'resolved' politically.

"There is a dialogue between authorities and what two sides India and Denmark agreed last year in April was we should rely on these independent authorities to do their work," the visiting Danish Prime Minister told reporters on the sidelines of a function.

Niels Holck, also author of a book De kalder mig terrorist (They call me Terrorist) is alleged to have been involved in an arms drop case in Purulia in West Bengal in 1995 during the stint of PV Narasimha Rao as the Prime Minister.

Official sources say the case relates to the incident of December 17, 1995, when an AN-26 aircraft dropped arms and ammunition in West Bengal's Purulia district.

The consignment had hundreds of AK-47 rifles, pistols, anti-tank grenades, rocket launchers and thousands of rounds of ammunition, according to investigators.

In 1990s, media reports quoting Kim Davy had suggested that a 'conspiracy' was hatched to 'overthrow' the Marxist government in West Bengal and one 'elected MP' from Bihar had facilitated his safe exit from India.

The crew consisted of five Latvian citizens and British national Peter Bleach all of whom were arrested. However, the Danish citizen Davy, also the prime accused in the case, had escaped.

India has been seeking extradition of 59-year-old Davy and the Danish government had accepted India's request.

The extradition was however stalled following a legal case in Denmark.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had raised the issue with Denmark authorities during his visit to that country in April 2018.

On Friday, PM Modi and the Denmark counterpart held bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Ahmedabad but the Davy issue reportedly did not figure.

Mr Rasmussen said that there is a need for both India and Denmark to learn more about each other.

The visiting dignitary is accompanied by a business delegation, including CEOs of major Danish companies.

In the bilateral meeting on Friday, PM Modi and the Danish counterpart deliberated upon various areas of bilateral cooperation and also exchanged views on multilateral issues of mutual interest.

They underscored the huge potential for expanding bilateral trade and investments between the two countries, an MEA statement said.

"Denmark is a global leader in several niche technologies which are of relevance to India. Mentioning that Denmark has skills, India has scale and world has the need for new technologies, PM Modi encouraged India and Denmark to establish a research platform where solutions could be found to global issues of concern such as food security, water management, climate change and sustainable development," the statement said.