Elnaz Hajtamiri suspect seeks transfer from correctional facility amid safety concerns
One of the men charged with the Elnaz Hajtamiri abduction investigation was back in court on Tuesday.
Police say Akash Rana, from Delta, B.C., played a role in the alleged frying pan assault and failed abduction attempt on the 37-year-old Ontario woman in her Richmond Hill parking garage in December 2021, weeks before she disappeared.
READ: Complete details on the Elnaz Hajtamiri investigation
The 25-year-old faces charges of aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
On Tuesday, his bail hearing was put over until March 21, so Rana will remain behind bars for at least one more week.
His defence lawyer, Gurpreet Mangat, had requested his client be moved to another facility, citing safety concerns over his client's incarceration in the same correctional facility as two other men accused in the Richmond Hill attack, Harshdeep Binner and Harshpreet Sekhon.
Sekhon faces the same charges as Rana, while Binner is charged with attempted murder and kidnapping.
The defence requested a publication ban based on the safety concerns.
The three men are currently in custody at Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay.
Another man, Riyasat Singh, pleaded guilty last year to aggravated assault in connection with the frying pan attack, and police say, has since been deported.
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Investigators continue to seek information on what happened to Elnaz Hajtamiri.
They say she was kidnapped on January 12, 2022, by three men posing as officers from a Wasaga Beach home where she had been hiding with loved ones after the York Region assault.
Her former boyfriend, Mohamad Lilo, has been behind bars in Penetanguishene since his arrest in July, charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and criminal harassment.
Detectives are also appealing to the public for help finding three additional suspects, including Deshawn Davis.
A $100,000 reward is being offered for information that helps in the investigation.
The allegations against all the accused have not been tested in court.
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