Representative image of CBI officials during a field operation.
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed charge sheets against two Indian nationals—Inder Jit Singh and Subhash Chander Mahla—in connection with separate murder cases reported in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.
In a statement posted on X on Friday, June 27, the agency confirmed it had initiated prosecution based on official requests from both countries. The CBI, in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), collected admissible evidence under Indian law before filing the charge sheets.
In response to a request from the UAE, the CBI registered a case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Inder Jit Singh for the alleged murder of an Indian national, Rama Lingam Natesan, in Abu Dhabi.
According to the investigation, Natesan was engaged in the sale of international SIM cards, while Singh regularly purchased them on credit. Singh reportedly accumulated a debt of AED 300. When Natesan approached Singh’s employer to recover the dues by deducting the amount from Singh’s salary, a dispute ensued.
On August 28, 2008, Singh allegedly attacked Natesan with a sharp-edged weapon, inflicting grievous injuries which proved fatal. The CBI filed the charge sheet before the competent CBI court in New Delhi after securing prosecution sanction from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoFA).
In a separate case, based on an extradition request received from Bahrain, the MEA referred the matter to the CBI for local prosecution. The agency registered a case under sections 302 and 404 of the IPC against Subhash Chander Mahla.
Mahla, employed as a driver in Bahrain, allegedly killed his employer following incidents of workplace misconduct. On 31 January 2011, Mahla is said to have attacked the victim with a blunt object, causing critical injuries that led to his death.
Following a detailed investigation, and upon receiving the requisite prosecution sanction from the MoFA, the CBI submitted the charge sheet before the designated CBI court in New Delhi.
The CBI has, over the years, handled several high-profile cases involving Indian nationals accused of crimes in Gulf countries. As the nodal agency for local prosecution in such matters, the CBI acts on extradition or mutual legal assistance requests received via the MEA.
In 2012, Santosh Kumar Rana accused of murdering his Kuwaiti employers. Convicted and sentenced to death in absentia by a Kuwaiti court, he returned to India where extradition was not possible. In 2022, based on a request from Kuwait, the CBI registered a case under the Indian Penal Code and launched local prosecution, securing documents and evidence from Kuwaiti authorities.
Editor’s note: The article has been updated for clarity.
This post was last modified on June 28, 2025 7:09 am