Number of Indians on Interpol list on the rise

Red alert notices against 656 Indians over five years

The number of Indians, or people of Indian origin, on Interpol's ‘wanted' list is on the rise with as many as 656 having got red alert notices in a little over five years.

The notices have been issued by the global crime-monitoring organisation between January 2005 and May 2010, generally for crimes committed in countries other than India.

Last year saw the highest number of red notices issued in a year, at 150, while the number stood at 75 in the first five months of this year.

Many of these wanted people are involved in acts of terrorism or serious crimes like rape of a minor.
A red alert or red corner notice obliges immigration and police forces of all member countries to arrest the person and inform the authorities in his home country, or the country where the crime was committed.

Interpol is the world's largest international police organisation, with 188 member countries.

A total of 133 notices were issued in 2007 while the number stood at 119 in 2006.
About 85 such notices were drawn in 2008 and 94 others in 2005, said the CBI, which acts as a nodal agency for international policing in India, in reply to an RTI query.

The countries where the largest number of offences have been reported include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, the United States, Hong Kong, Russia, Belarus, Egypt, Australia and Belgium.

The offences include money laundering, tax evasion, sexual harassment, disrupting railway traffic, mail fraud and demanding dowry. (News-The Hindu)