Arthur Road jail in Mumbai all set to lodge Nirav Modi

The UK court on Thursday ordered the extradition of fugitive diamond dealer Nirav Modi to India for conspiring to defraud Punjab National Bank of more than a billion dollars.

The Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail is all set to welcome him and has kept a special cell ready to lodge him, an official said on Friday. The jail official said that once Nirav Modi is brought to Mumbai, he will be kept in one of the three cells of barrack number 12, which is a high security barrack.

“Preparations for lodging Nirav Modi in the jail have been completed and the prison cell is ready for him, whenever he is extradited,” he said.

It is alleged that Modi and his associates colluded with officials at the state-owned Punjab National Bank to defraud the bank out of more than $1.4 billion by using a credit facility known as Letters of Undertaking, a form of bank guarantee to facilitate international transactions.

The prison department in a letter of assurance to the Centre had said that Modi will be kept in a cell, where the number of detainees will be few.

If lodged in the barrack, Modi likely to get three square meters of personal space, where a cotton mat, pillow, bedsheet and blanket will be provided, the official said.

The prison department had also assured adequate light, ventilation and storage for personal belongings, he said.