Interpol Red Corner Notice: Speaking after inaugurating the 90th General Assembly of the Interpol in New Delhi on Tuesday (October 18), Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the international agency to speed up the process of Red Corner notices against fugitive offenders. PM Modi stressed that the step was important to help eliminate safe havens for terror groups and corrupt, and criminals.
"Yes, there are diverse legal and procedural frameworks to deal with them. However, there is a need for the global community to work even faster to eliminate safe havens. There can be no safe havens for the corrupt, terrorists, drug cartels, poaching gangs or organised crime," PM Modi said, adding,"Interpol can help by speeding up Red Corner Notices for fugitive offenders."
PM Modi's statement assumes significance as nearly 778 Red Notices issued by India are active, of which 205 are by the CBI against fugitives like Dawood Ibrahim, his aide Chhota Shakeel, terrorist Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed, and economic offenders like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi among others.
What is Interpol?
Interpol or International Criminal Police Organisation is an inter-governmental organisation with 195 countries as its member. "We have 195 member countries, and we help police in all of them to work together to make the world a safer place. To do this, we enable them to share and access data on crimes and criminals, and we offer a range of technical and operational support," the official website of Interpol states.
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Interpol, which has its headquarters in Lyon, France, has a general secretariat that helps in coordinating the day-to-day work work. Jurgen Stock currently serves as Interpol's secretary general.
Interpol has a National Central Bureau (NCB) in every country that serves as central point of contact for the General Secretariat and the NCBs, that are run by the police officials and usually sits in the government ministry responsible for policing - (in India it the Home Ministry).
Interpol manages 19 police databases with information on crimes and criminals (from names and fingerprints to stolen passports), accessible in real-time to countries, the agency's website states.
What is a Red Corner Notice
Often high profile terrorists or criminals sneak out of the country where they commit a crime to evade action by security agencies. A country can issue a Red Corner notice alerting the police and security establishments of other nations to help it nab or trace the fugitive. According to Interpol, a Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. However, a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant.
The individuals are wanted by the requesting member country, or international tribunal. Member countries apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person.
"A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, and Interpol cannot force any member country to arrest an individual who is the subject of a Red Notice. It is not for Interpol to judge the merit of a case or a decision taken by national courts – that is a sovereign matter," Interpol Secretary General Jurgan Stock had said during a press conference a day before earlier PM Modi's remark.
(With inputs from agencies)
