Ravi Shankaran, a kin of former naval chief Admiral Arun Prakash who is the key accused in the war room leak case, has been spotted in Europe and the CBI has stepped up efforts to bring him to India to face trial.
Refusing to give a direct reply to a question whether Shankaran, declared a proclaimed offender by a court here, had slipped out of Britain, a senior CBI official on Wednesday said he was “somewhere in Europe and we will get him soon”.

Asked whether a fresh letter rogatory was needed to bring Shankaran back to face the law, the official confidently said: “We don’t require anything now and we will soon bring him back to face trial here.”
Shankaran, who has been chargesheeted by the CBI, has not returned to Britain from where he fled after an arrest warrant was issued against him by an additional district judge in that country on April 10.

Though there was no official confirmation, sources in the CBI claimed that Shankaran, against whom an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued last year, is believed to be in France, a country he often visited for business purposes.

CBI officials said they were confident of getting Shankaran extradited to India and termed his “vanishing act” as a temporary phase till the law caught up with him.

The agency is preparing a request for Shankaran’s extradition after Britain’s Home Department routed a request to the CBI through the External Affairs Ministry that India should formally seek his extradition.

Shankaran is wanted by the CBI for alleged leaks of classified data, including the navy’s acquisition plans and other sensitive material, from the war room or the Directorate of Naval Operations. The CBI is preparing its request on the basis of the Red Corner Notice and reported admissions by other accused in the case about Shankaran’s alleged involvement in the matter.

India’s request for the provisional arrest of 43-year-old Shankaran was made under Article 12 of its extradition treaty with Britain.The CBI had on September 12 last year attached Shankaran’s property and bank accounts after he failed to appear before the agency for questioning. This included his office — Shanks Oceanographic Pvt Ltd in Goa — and accounts with HSBC Bank of a firm called Besix India which belonged to him. His passport was revoked by the Government on May 1 last year.

The CBI conducted raids at his residence and offices in April last year after arresting former naval Commander Kulbushan Parashar at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on his arrival from London.
A proclamation notice asking Shankaran to appear before the CBI for questioning was published in The Times of London on August 11 last year.

The CBI had registered a case on March 20, 2006 against former IAF Wing Commander Sambhaji Rao Surve, Shankaran, ex-naval Commanders Vinod Kumar Jha and Vinod Rana, Raj Rani Jaiswal, Mukesh Bajaj, Wing Commander (retired) S K Kohli, Kashyap Kumar and Parashar.

The case against all nine persons was registered under various sections of the Official Secrets Act and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.