Indian-origin woman walks free in fraud case

An Indian-origin woman in Britain, accused of conspiring with a former police officer to steal and sell details of accident victims, walked free after a jury failed to reach a verdict.

Paramjeet Kaur, 26, from Birmingham, who was charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office with her husband Raza Khan, 27, and his lover, ex-police officer Sugra Hanif, walked free Friday, BBC reported.

Khan and Hanif were found guilty at Winchester Crown Court Thursday.

Judge Andrew Barnett had given the crown prosecutor service, a British government department responsible for public prosecution of people charged with criminal offences, a week to consider a retrial request for Kaur.

The court heard that Hanif, a former police officer from Oxfordshire, would access her work computer and note the personal details of members of the public involved in road accidents.

Prosecutor Peter Asteris said Khan and Kaur, both of Handsworth, Birmingham, set up case management companies to sell information of accident victims to law firms, who deal with insurance matters, with Hanif.

The conspiracy began in January 2011 and could have netted the trio more than one million pounds, the court heard.

Khan and Kaur claimed they did not know the data was illegal.

Judge Barnett told Hanif and Khan that they would face "substantial custodial sentences" when they are sentenced March 7.