A New Delhi court on Tuesday approved an extradition request for the main suspect in the murder of a woman on an Australian beach four years ago.
Rajwinder Singh, of Indian origin, was arrested in November on the outskirts of the Indian capital. His arrest came three weeks after he received a $677,000 reward.
Australia had requested India for Singh’s extradition in March 2021, but he could not be found.
Singh, 38, flew from Sydney to India the day after the body of 24-year-old Australian Toyah Cordingley was found off the coast of Queensland state on October 22, 2018.
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The court order approving Singh’s extradition to Australia will now need to be signed by the Indian government, which could take a few weeks, said Ajay Digpaul, a permanent lawyer for the Indian federal government. He added that Singh earlier this month waived his right to challenge the extradition.
In November, Australia’s attorney general said Singh’s extradition is a “high priority” for his government and that he will work with Indian authorities to ensure Singh returns to Australia to face justice.
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Police officers escort Rajwinder Singh, 38, after he was arrested in New Delhi, India, on November 25, 2022. A New Delhi court has approved an extradition request for Singh, suspected of murdering a woman in Australia. in 2018.
(AP Photo/Dinesh Joshi, File)
The Queensland government on November 3 offered the largest reward in the state’s history for information on Singh.
The reward was unique in that it was not looking for a clue that would solve a crime and lead to a successful prosecution. Instead, the money is offered in exchange for information leading solely to the location and arrest of a suspect.
Indian police arrested Singh the same day they received information about his whereabouts, the Australian Federal Police said in November.
New Delhi police said Singh was arrested on a highway to his home state of Punjab according to intelligence shared by the France-based international police organization Interpol, as well as Australian police.
Singh was “believed to have been avoiding arrest in the Punjab region of India since traveling to the country” in 2018, according to Australian police.
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Singh was working as a nurse in Innisfail, a town south of the main city of Cairns, when Cordingley was killed on Wangetti Beach. She had gone to the beach to walk her dog.
Australia and India have an extradition treaty since 2010, but the process can be slow.
For 13 years, Australia has sought the extradition of Puneet Indian national Puneet, 33, who fled Australia after being found guilty of drunk driving and speeding when he struck and killed a pedestrian and injured another in downtown Melbourne in 2008.
