1 year ago
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The man accused of murdering 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley on a Queensland beach four years ago has told an Indian court he wants to return to Australia as soon as possible to face trial.
Rajwinder Singh, 38, swore in a “willingness statement” submitted to a Delhi court magistrate that he wished to formally waive his right to challenge extradition.
Singh’s decision avoids a legal battle that could have dragged on for years in India’s clogged court system.
As he was being escorted to the court by police the Australian citizen of Indian origin, said he had a “message for Australians”.
“I want to go back,” Singh said. “It is the [Indian] judicial system that has been holding things up.” He was accompanied by his father and mother at the hearing.
“I did not kill the woman,” he said, adding he wanted to “reveal all the details” to an Australian court.
Asked why he had fled the country after Cordingley’s alleged murder in 2018, Singh said: “I will explain all that [later].” He added: “There were two killers and two victims.”
Australian police say Singh is the prime suspect in the killing. He was arrested in November by Delhi police.
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Authorities had been searching for Singh for four years. There has been an extradition order against him since 2021. Singh boarded a flight to India hours after police discovered Cordingley’s body half-buried in sand dunes on Wangetti beach north of Cairns.
The public prosecutor Ajay Digpaul told the court that Cordingley’s killing was a “heinous offence” and Singh’s decision to waive extradition was “the best possible outcome”. Singh’s lawyers initially said he would fight extradition.
Unless the accused agrees to be extradited proceedings in India can be extremely drawn out.
Digpaul said he could give no “exact timeline” for when Singh would be sent back to Australia as “things must move at their own speed”. But he said the extradition proceedings should “start moving”.
“The case is almost finished as he is not contesting,” the prosecutor said.
The magistrate will consider Singh’s request to be returned to Australia and give a decision on 10 January. The Indian government has already provisionally consented to Australia’s call for Singh’s extradition but the request needed to be signed off by the court.
Singh’s waiving of his right to contest extradition means the court no longer has to hear evidence in the case compiled by Australian investigators before giving the green light for his return.
Australian police have said Cordingley – a pharmacy worker – had suffered “visible, violent injuries”. Her dog was found tied up nearby.
Singh, who worked as a nurse and lived in Innisfail, has a wife and three children in Australia. Since his arrest, he has been housed in Delhi’s Tihar jail, south Asia’s largest prison.
His cousin, who did not wish to be identified by name, said the accused “has faith in Australia’s courts and the justice system”.
Singh, who was clean-shaven in Australia, grew a long and unkempt beard in India. He allegedly evaded arrest by moving constantly.
He was arrested just weeks after the Queensland government posted a record $1m reward in November for information leading to his capture.
English (US)