India on Wednesday sought the United Kingdom’s assistance in the early extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya and former cricket administrator Lalit Modi and in locating diamantaire Nirav Modi who is said to be planning to seek asylum there.
New Delhi put the requests during the Third Home Affairs’ dialogue between India and the UK here during which it also expressed concerns about recent activities of certain extremists and radical elements, including Kashmiri and Khalistani separatists.
The Indian delegation was led by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba while the UK team was headed by Second Permanent Secretary Patsy Wilkinson.
“Detailed exchange of views took place between the two sides on Indian fugitives/economic offenders residing in the UK. The Indian delegation impressed upon the UK authorities the need to expedite the process of extradition,” a statement by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.
Officials said issues related to Mallya, Lalit and Nirav were discussed during the meeting and the UK delegation promised all help. Extradition of suspected bookie Sanjiv Kapur, as well as legal help in the prosecution of 16 other suspected criminals, were also raised in the meeting.
While the extradition process of Mallya, who is facing cases of loan default and money laundering, has started, Lalit is facing cases related to irregularities in the conduct of Indian Premier League.
The issue of Nirav, who is named by the CBI as an accused in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank scam, also came up as reports suggested that he may seek asylum in that country.
The statement said the dialogue covered a wide range of issues including cybersecurity, women safety, organised crime, terror financing and a need to put in place a mechanism for the timely exchange of information and intelligence inputs on such issues.
Another important topic taken up for discussion was about streamlining the process of various categories of visas for Indian students and highly skilled professionals and other categories. It was agreed that there will be further interactions on the issues.
On concerns about activities of certain extremists and radical elements in the UK, the statement said, “the UK delegation were urged to maintain a vigil over the activities of such elements and take appropriate action including timely sharing of intelligence.”┬аIt was also agreed to maintain the momentum for enhanced security cooperation between the two countries. DH
