LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - A British-based pharmacist wanted in India for allegedly poisoning his ex-wife's family with arsenic, killing her mother, and trying to hire assassins to kill her father began his fight against extradition on Monday.
Ajith Kumar Mupparapu, 45, is accused of repeatedly targeting Sirisha Muttavarapu and her family in 2023, shortly after she filed for divorce.
Indian prosecutors allege Mupparapu arranged for arsenic-laced chilli powder and salt to be sent to Muttavarapu's family in Hyderabad, southern India, which her relatives consumed as they gathered to celebrate her brother's wedding in June 2023. Her mother Uma Maheshwari died the following month.
Mupparapu is also said to have tried to murder Muttavarapu's father Hanumantha Rao, by organising a staged road accident, attempting to hire contract killers and conspiring to have him injected with a fatal dose of a muscle relaxant.
His lawyers, however, say there is insufficient evidence to establish that Mupparapu was responsible for any arsenic in Muttavarapu's family's home or was involved in any conspiracy to kill her father.
They also say Mupparapu would likely be tortured by the Indian authorities if extradited, citing a ruling last February preventing a businessman being sent for trial in India.
Mupparapu appeared at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday, sitting in the dock in a grey prison-issue sweatshirt as the case against him was set out.
James Lewis, a lawyer representing Indian prosecutors, said the arsenic which was found when those who had eaten food at Muttavarapu's family home were tested was allegedly obtained by Mupparapu's sister.
The arsenic levels found in their blood and urine were more than 20 times the normal value, he added.
The hearing to determine whether Mupparapu can be sent to India to stand trial is expected to conclude this week, with a ruling at a later date.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Barbara Lewis)
