CBI Chief Stresses on Coordination, Data Sharing to Strengthen Extradition Efforts
New Delhi: CBI Director Praveen Sood has called for stronger coordination and seamless data sharing among India’s law enforcement agencies to enhance efforts aimed at extraditing fugitives from abroad.
Addressing state police chiefs and senior officers from central agencies at a two-day conference on “Extradition of Fugitives – Challenges and Strategies”, organised by the CBI, Sood highlighted the importance of creating synergy by integrating databases and improving inter-agency cooperation.
Chairing the valedictory session on Friday, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan said the discussions held during the conference would help chart the future roadmap for India’s extradition strategy. He underscored the need to strengthen documentation to ensure that India’s requests for international assistance meet global legal standards.
Mohan also outlined various initiatives being taken by the Home Ministry to ensure that wanted fugitives are successfully brought back to India.
Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Sadanand Date noted that provisions in the new criminal laws — particularly those related to Trial in Absentia — could be effectively utilised to deal with absconding offenders.
The two-day conference, inaugurated by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, brought together over 200 officers from 45 state and central law enforcement bodies, including the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The participants deliberated on legal, operational, and procedural aspects of tracking and extraditing fugitives.
Twenty-five officers from agencies such as the MEA, MHA, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), NIA, National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Mumbai Police, INTERPOL, and the CBI made presentations during the sessions.
Discussions focused on leveraging technology to trace fugitives, improving cooperation channels with foreign agencies, analysing financial trails, and developing strategic approaches to extradition.
Key areas of deliberation included narcotics, terrorism, cybercrime, organised crime, and financial fraud. Participants also explored the application of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act to act against global assets of absconders, as well as the use of anti-money laundering frameworks to trace their funds and properties.
The conference additionally examined modern techniques for tracking illicit funds and discussed INTERPOL’s newly introduced Silver Notice, which focuses on tracing assets linked to fugitives.
