India's Fugitive Crisis: How Shah's Conference Aims to Bring Back 300+ Criminals

The event is being organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Senior officers from various central and state police organisations will participate in the conference, which will focus on strengthening international police cooperation to trace and bring back fugitives wanted in India.

Officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), along with other stakeholders, will also attend.

The two-day deliberations will cover a wide range of topics, including the effective use of formal and informal channels for international cooperation, leveraging technology to locate fugitive criminals, strategic approaches to extradition, and analysis of the financial footprints of wanted offenders.

Special sessions will address issues related to narcotics, terrorism, cybercrime, organised crime, and economic offences.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has intensified its focus on international cooperation in criminal investigations.

In July this year, Amit Shah had called for a coordinated approach to expedite the return of wanted fugitives from abroad. The conference aims to develop strategies for achieving this goal through legal and diplomatic channels in a time-bound manner.

Currently, more than 300 extradition requests from India are pending with various foreign governments. Officials acknowledge that delays in these cases are often caused by fugitives exploiting legal loopholes in the host countries.

Many of these offenders are associated with organised criminal syndicates and continue to operate from overseas.

During the conference, law enforcement agencies and domain experts will deliberate on practical solutions to overcome these challenges and create a roadmap for faster extradition of fugitive criminals.

Shah had earlier launched the BHARATPOL portal, developed by the CBI, which integrates district police units, state police, central law enforcement agencies, and the CBI on a single platform to enable seamless information exchange.

The CBI expects that the discussions and exchange of ideas during the conference will help in formulating new strategies and enhancing coordination among agencies to strengthen India’s efforts in bringing fugitives to justice.

- IANS