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Updated: Oct 05, 2019 14:04 IST

Aman Vyas, an Indian student in London who assaulted some women and killed one of them in 2009 and later fled to India, was extradited to the United Kingdom on Friday and was soon charged by Scotland Yard with the rape and murder of the woman.

Vyas, 35, who lost legal bids in India to block his extradition, is the fourth individual and third Indian citizen to be extradited from India to the UK since the 1992 India-UK extradition treaty. His extradition was the subject of a campaign over the years by Labour MP Stella Creasy.

Scotland Yard said in a statement: “Aman Vyas, 35 (19.08.84) arrived at Heathrow Airport on Friday, 4 October. On his arrival, he was charged with the murder and rape of Michelle Samaraweera who died after being attacked in Walthamstow on 30 May 2009”.

“Vyas was also charged with the following offences relating to three other women: one count of attempted murder; five counts of assault; seven counts of rape; one count of possession of a knife or bladed article in a public place; one count of possession of an offensive weapon; and one count of sexual assault”.

The offences are alleged to have taken place at locations across Walthamstow in north-east London between March 24, 2009 and May 30, 2009. Vyas is due to appear in custody at the Uxbridge Magistrates Court later on Saturday.

According to the Delhi high court’s judgement that cleared his extradition in July, investigation in the UK revealed that Vyas first entered the country on November 7, 2004 on a work permit. He left the country at some stage and re-entered on November 16, 2007 on a student visa.

The UK’s extradition request to India mentioned four attacks in 2009 within a kilometer of each other off Markethouse Road in Walthamstow: on March 24, April 22, April 29 and May 30. It added that all victims were women aged between 32 and 59 years, and were violently and sexually assaulted.

On July 1, 2009, Vyas purchased a one-way ticket from London to New Delhi.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to London for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in April 2018, Creasy, who is MP for Walthamstow, expressed frustration over the delay in Vyas’ extradition from India in a question to the then Prime Minister Theresa May in the House of Commons. May responded she had raised the issue during her meeting with Modi.

Previous extraditions from India since the 1992 treaty are: Maninder Pal Singh Kohli (Indian citizen), on July 29, 2007, for the rape and murder of British teenager Hannah Foster; Somaia Ketan Surendra (Kenyan citizen), on July 8, 2009, in a cheating case; and Kulwinder Singh Uppal (Indian citizen), on November 14, 2013, in kidnapping and false imprisonment case.

There are several ongoing cases in UK courts to extradite individuals to India, including those of businessmen Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, and alleged cricket bookie Sanjeev Chawla. The only Indian to be extradited so far from the UK to India is Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel, who was wanted in a case related to the 2002 Gujarat riots, extradited in October 2016.