Amit Shah Meets Interpol Chief, Conveys Concern Over Red Corner Notice

Union Home Minister Amit Shah today conveyed his concern to Interpol over the delay in issuance of Red Corner Notices (RCN) by the international organisation against fugitives hiding from the law like terror accused Zakir Naik.

During a meeting with Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock, Mr. Shah also emphasized the need for initiating a long-term strategic action plan against drug trafficking, international terrorism, dirty money, and money-laundering, against which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted the zero-tolerance approach.

"The home minister expressed concern about the delay in the publication of Red Notices and an urgent need for proactive pre-publication consultation for ensuring expeditious publication of Red Notices," a home ministry statement said.

Mr. Shah conveyed to Mr. Stock that such cooperation enables India to more intensely pursue high profile fugitive economic offenders and terrorists. A red corner notice is a kind of international arrest warrant for fugitives where Interpol requests its member-countries to arrest or detain them.

According to a home ministry statistics, during 2016, 2017 and 2018, red corner notice requests sent to Interpol by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were 91, 94 and 123, respectively, and notices published by Interpol were 87, 84 and 76, respectively.

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Till July 15 this year, as many as 41 requests have been sent to Interpol and 32 have been published. The people against whom the Interpol is yet to issue an RCN include Zakir Naik, accused of inciting and radicalizing youths to carry out terror attacks. Naik is currently based in Malaysia.

The home minister apprised the Interpol secretary-general about the zero-tolerance approach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to drug trafficking, international terrorism, and money laundering, the statement said. Amit Shah called upon Interpol to accord topmost priority in fighting these menaces. He also underlined the urgent need for a long-term strategic action plan in fighting these menaces not just in the Asian region but across the world.

The home minister conveyed that over the years, Indian intelligence and investigation agencies have acquired rich and varied experience in the fight against terrorism. The Interpol is welcome to actively collaborate with Indian law enforcement agencies to make the best use of this expertise, Amit Shah told Mr. Stock, and also mentioned the recent amendments in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

"Stock also assured enhanced operational cooperation," the statement said.

The Interpol secretary general thanked the home minister for the commitment shown and cooperation extended to the organisation and assured support in the fight against terror.

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He also conveyed that the three focus areas of Interpol are counter-terrorism, organised and emerging crime and cybercrime. Mr. Stock appraised Mr. Shah about the databases of Interpol that house 100 million records, secure global data communication channel, and other tools through which Interpol is assisting law enforcement agencies across the world.

He said he wants Indian law enforcement agencies to make efforts to ensure extensive use of Interpol's tools and databases, more particularly at border control points.