India, April 17 -- A special court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on Thursday permitted alleged gangster Kumar Krishnan Pillai to return to his home country, Hong Kong, rejecting the state's contention that he be sent back to Singapore, from where he was extradited in 2016, after being acquitted in three cases of alleged extortion.

Special judge Satyanarayan R Navander observed that there was no requirement to send the alleged gangster back to the extraditing country once the trial was over, and directed the state to issue the necessary no-objection certificate without insisting on his return to Singapore.

The alleged gangster was extradited from Singapore after India sought his return in six cases, but ext...