Sabrjit Singh outside the Nicosia court yesterday

AN INDIAN man implicated in the theft of the former president’s corpse felt remorse and decided to ask for money to reveal where it had been hidden, a Nicosia court heard yesterday.

Police arrested three suspects in connection with the theft of Tassos Papadopoulos’ remains, two of whom were yesterday remanded in custody for eight days.

The third suspect, convict Antonis Prokopiou Kitas is currently serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of two women.

Police told the court that Sabrjit Singh, 31, had approached the family asking for money to reveal where the body had been hidden for the past three months.

“The suspect said he felt remorse and decided to ask for money to reveal the location where the corpse was hidden,” Deputy Superintendent Yiannakis Charalambous told the court.

Charalambous added that Singh had “repeatedly tried in recent days to convince the family that he was telling the truth.”

But the police investigator did not elaborate further on these contacts.

The suspect also tried to visit the family at their home without success, the court heard.

He finally met members of the family on Monday and told them where the body was.

And “the suspect continued to contact the family by phone, asking for money,” Charalambous said. Police say no money was ever exchanged.

The Indian man was located by police in Larnaca on Tuesday.

Singh, who followed the proceeding through an interpreter, told police he needed the money to leave Cyprus and start a new life.

Papadopoulos’ daughter Anastasia was among the audience attending yesterday’s hearing.

The Indian man, who sported tattoos on his neck and fingers of his left hand, allegedly admitted to stealing Papadopoulos’ body on December 11, 2009 and named Kitas’ brother, Mamas, 48, as his accomplice.

Mamas, who stared into space for most of the hearing, has so far refused to answer any questions.

Both suspects appeared without a lawyer and did not object to their remand in custody.

The court heard that the two men were acting on the behest of the convict.

Mamas reportedly told Singh of Kitas’ demand just days before the act.

During the night between December 10 and 11, 2009 the two men went to the Ayios Nicolaos cemetery in Deftera using Mamas’ red pickup truck carrying with them a mattock, a shovel and a screwdriver.

In torrential rain, the two of them managed to remove the heavy granite slab covering the grave, and while Mamas dug out the remains, Singh acted as the lookout.

Until now police believed that the theft had been the work of a group of people.

The two suspects loaded the remains into the back of the truck and took it to a cemetery in nearby Tseri, where they hid it under the slab of an existing grave.

“A month ago they returned to the cemetery … and put soil on top (of the body) so that it would not smell,” Charalambous told the court.

The court heard Mamas paid Singh €200 and promised him more but that never happened.

The two suspects were formally arrested on Tuesday afternoon as was Kitas.

Police searched Mamas’ home and collected various tools as well as some gypsum for further tests.

The culprits of the theft had scattered gypsum at the graveside and on the tombstone for reasons that remain unknown.

The gruesome theft of the former president’s body on the eve of the first anniversary of his death shocked Cyprus and made headlines around the world.

Immediately after the discovery, certain circles had suggested it was a political act.