Last week, news broke in the Indian media that the Interpol has turned down New Delhi’s request for a Red Notice against ‘Sikhs for Justice’ founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. The development came just days before the 90th Interpol General Assembly, which India is to host after 25 years. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to address the delegates from 195 Interpol member states.
Interpol, an acronym for International Criminal Police Organization, is a global body facilitating worldwide police cooperation and crime control. At present, it has 7,136 Red Notices in circulation for offences ranging from terror activities and organised crime to financial fraud. Incidentally, Russians account for 3,047 or more than 40 per cent of the wanted persons, according to Interpol data.
Activists say a sizeable number among them are dissidents and opposition workers critical of Kremlin. Notably, the arrest of ‘Pussy Riot’ activist Aysoltan Niyazova by Croatia in May this year after an Interpol Red Notice had led to much furore.
The group with the second highest number of Red Notices are El Salvadorians (1,094). This tiny Central American nation is one of the most violent places on Earth due to raging gang fights that have wreaked havoc on the population. Most El Salvadorians on the Interpol list are associated with gangs involved in drugs, arms and human trafficking, apart from murders, rapes, kidnappings and extortion.
Other countries with the highest number of residents on the Interpol list include Argentina (380), India (213) and Pakistan (208). While most Indians are on the list for financial crimes, for Pakistan, it is terror activities. Even the US finds a place among the top ten countries, with 112 Americans facing Interpol’s Red Notice.
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India has made consistent efforts to trace and arrest fugitives who have escaped to other countries. According to data by the Press Information Bureau, between 2016 and 2019, India has located and arrested more than 100 fugitives abroad. The names of PNB fraud case accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi deserve special mention here. In July 2018, Interpol issued a Red Notice against then absconding diamantaire Nirav Modi, who was later arrested in London in March 2019.
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In June this year, the Interpol issued a Red Notice against Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar, who claimed responsibility for the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. In March, it had issued notices against Atul and Rajesh Gupta – two of the three Indian-origin Gupta brothers – who fled South Africa amid investigations into alleged looting of billions of rands from state-owned enterprises.
On the other hand, many of India’s most wanted terrorists such as Dawood Ibrahim, Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed – all of them facing Interpol Red Notices – are suspected to be hiding in Pakistan. New Delhi is expected to take up the matter with member countries during the October 18-21 Interpol General Assembly.
