Bot at 23:17, 23 June 2022

2022-06-23T23:17:09Z

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Ravindra Mhatre
|image = RavindraMhatre.jpg
|alt =
|birth_date = 1936
|birth_place =
|death_date = {{death date and age|1984|2|6|1936||df=y}}
|death_place = [[Birmingham]], [[United Kingdom]]
|death_cause = Murder
|nationality = Indian
|other_names =
|known_for =
}}

'''Ravindra Hareshwar Mhatre''' was a 48 year old Indian diplomat in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] who was kidnapped and later killed in [[Birmingham]] in 1984 by British Kashmiri militants who were associated with the [[Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front]].

== Abduction and killing ==
Ravindra Mhatre, a second-ranking official in India's consular office in Birmingham, was abducted in Birmingham as he stepped out of a bus, carrying a birthday cake for his daughter Asha. He was held captive for three days in the [[Alum Rock, Birmingham|Alum Rock]] neighborhood of Birmingham,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ray|first=Devasish|date=2004|title=Suspect in 1984 killing of Indian diplomat arrested|work=India Post|url=http://www.indiapost.com/members/story.php?story_id=2560|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050222065034/http://www.indiapost.com/members/story.php?story_id=2560|archive-date=22 February 2005}}</ref> an area that was predominantly inhabited by [[British Mirpuris]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Reuters|date=1984-02-06|title=BRITISH FIND THE BODY OF INDIAN DIPLOMAT WHO WAS ABDUCTED|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/06/world/british-find-the-body-of-indian-diplomat-who-was-abducted.html|access-date=2021-12-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

According to a police spokesman, Mhatre's body was found two days later in a farm lane about 20 miles southeast of Birmingham.<ref name=":0" /> The [[JKLF|Jammu Kashmir Liberation Army]] claimed responsibility and demanded a ransom of 1 million pounds ($1.84 million) and the release of militant prisoned in India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://timelines.ws/20thcent/1984.HTML|title = Timeline 1984}}</ref>

The kidnapping was a failed attempt to secure the release from prison of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front's founder [[Maqbool Bhat]]. A £1m ransom demand was sent to media outlets.<ref name="DiplomatMurder">{{cite news|title=Diplomat murder accused on trial|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/4457862.stm|accessdate=18 May 2017|publisher=BBC|date=21 November 2005}}</ref>

==Perpetrators==

Mohammed Riaz and Abdul Quayyam Raja, then 27, were convicted of the murder of Mhatre. A third suspect, then aged 21 was arrested and imprisoned for 20 years until 2004.

Abdul Quayyam Raja was arrested and indicted in Birmingham in February 1984.<ref name="FatalKidnapping">{{cite news|date=26 February 1984|title=Kashmiri Accused in England Of Indian's Fatal Kidnapping|work=New York Times|agency=AP|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/26/world/kashmiri-accused-in-england-of-indian-s-fatal-kidnapping.html|accessdate=18 May 2017}}</ref>

Mohammad Aslam Mirza, 48, a British citizen and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) militant, was arrested in 2004 in the United States for overstaying his visa. Fingerprints revealed that he was a member of the JKLF, and fingerprints on the gun used to murder Mhatre revealed that he was wanted for the kidnap and murder of Mhatre. Mirza told the court he was not involved in the murder and said that he was appalled by the charges and had no recollection of the events of 1984 due to severe memory problems. He told the court that after the killing he had gone to Kashmir on family business.<ref>{{Cite news|date=4 December 2005|title=UK court acquits JKLF extremist|work=The Tribune|agency=UNI|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20051205/world.htm#4}}</ref>

Mirza had left his wife Sakina Bibi and seven children in Birmingham and left for Pakistan in 1984.<ref>[http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/mercury/content_objectid=14025893_method=full_siteid=50002_headline=-Mids-man-held-over-1984-killing-name_page.html icBirmingham - Mids man held over 1984 killing]</ref> He married Ann Aslam in [[Pottsville, Pennsylvania]], in 2001, and managed a Pottsville apartment complex.<ref>[http://www.nriinternet.com/UK/UPdated_Cases/1_Mhatre_Murder.htm Untitled Document]</ref>

==Impact and commemoration==
The [[People's Justice Party (UK)|People's Justice Party]], supported by [[British Mirpuri community|Mirpuri Pakistanis in the UK]] grew out of the campaign to get Mhatre's killers released. The original movement, called FRAQ - "Free Riaz and Quayyam" – campaign, later changed to "Justice for Kashmir", then the "Justice Party", before settling on its final name.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Prasad|first=Raekha|date=2002-06-19|title=Tough justice|url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2002/jun/19/localgovernment.guardiansocietysupplement|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-19|website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Sökefeld |first1=Martin |first2=Marta |last2=Bolognani |chapter="Kashmiris in Britain: A political project or a social reality |pages=119–120 |title=Pakistan and Its Diaspora: Multidisciplinary Approaches |editor1-first=Marta |editor1-last=Bolognani |editor2-first=Stephen M. |editor2-last=Lyon |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2011 |isbn=978-0230119079 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7bXGAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA119}}</ref>

A bridge in the Indian city of Pune popularly known as Mhatre Bridge is named after him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wikimapia.org/1685178/Ravindra-Mhatre-Bridge|title=Ravindra Mhatre Bridge - Pune}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mhatre, Ravindra}}
[[Category:Terrorism in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Birmingham]]
[[Category:Kashmir conflict]]
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:1984 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1984]]
[[Category:1984 murders in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1980s in Jammu and Kashmir]]

Killing of Ravindra Mhatre - Revision history

Bot at 23:17, 23 June 2022