A team from Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service recently inspected Delhi’s Tihar Jail, according to prison sources. This is part of the Indian legal system’s efforts to bring fugitives back to India.
The primary objective of the govt was to intensify efforts to bring back fugitives like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya to India. The govt is looking to prove that accused who would be extradited will get a safe environment in Tihar Jail. UK courts have rejected India’s extradition pleas in few cases citing prison conditions. India has, in fact, given a guarantee to UK that no accused will be illegally interrogated in jail.
According to the information, the CPS team visited the high-security ward of Tihar and spoke with the prisoners there. The officials assured them that if needed, a special “enclave” will be built in the Tihar Jail premises, where high-profile accused can stay safe.
So far, 178 extradition requests are pending abroad, of which about 20 are stuck in Britain alone. These include the names of arms dealers and operatives with Khalistani links.
Earlier this year, foreign secretary Vikram Misri had said that India is continuing to “make the case” for extradition of fugitives from UK as part of their efforts to secure return of these individuals wanted for legal proceedings in India.
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is currently living in London, is subject of extradition efforts for alleged loan defaults. He is accused in a loan default case of over ₹9,000 crore.
Nirav Modi, currently in custody of UK authorities, is the prime accused in the ₹13,800 crore fraud at PNB. He was declared a fugitive offender by India in Dec 2019. He was arrested in March 2019, and his extradition has already been approved by UK High Court. The PMLA case against him and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, was registered by the ED in 2018, with assets seized during the probe.
