New Delhi- Officials said that the CBI has succeeded in bringing back 134 fugitives from abroad in the last five years, which is almost double the number of persons brought back during the entire decade from 2010 to 2019. In close coordination with Interpol as well as state and central enforcement agencies, the CBI has been able to secure the extradition or deportation of these 134 fugitives since 2020. Out of these, 23 fugitives have been brought back during this year.
As per the previous data, only 74 fugitives were brought back during the decade from 2010 to 2019. Officials said the increase in the success rate can be attributed to increased diplomatic outreach by the government, India’s outreach through VVIP visits, bilateral ties, technological advancements, and better coordination with Interpol.
The extradition process has three stages – issuance of a Red Notice by Interpol, geo-location of the fugitive, and third, extradition after legal and diplomatic proceedings, all of which are time-consuming processes.
To reduce the time taken by Interpol to issue Red Notices, the CBI launched its digital portal Bharatpol in January. The portal alerts all 195 countries about fugitives wanted in the country. Developed internally by the agency, the platform connects Indian police agencies with Interpol through the CBI.
“The portal has ensured better documentation, which used to take a lot of time,” said an official. A recent notable success of this coordinated effort was the arrest of Nehal Modi in the US. Nehal is the brother of Nirav Modi, who is currently incarcerated in the UK and India is awaiting his extradition. Nirav Modi, along with his uncle Mehul Choksi, had defrauded Punjab National Bank of Rs 13,000 crore through fraudulent letters of undertaking.