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New Delhi: Over 70 fugitives, wanted by India, were located abroad during 2024-25, according to an official report.
As many as 203 fugitives wanted by other countries were detected/located in India during the same period.
A total of 71 "wanted persons/fugitives wanted by India" were located abroad in 2024-25, according to the annual report of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
The number of such wanted fugitives located abroad is the highest in the over a decade time, officials claimed.
A total of 27 fugitives/wanted persons returned to India, from abroad in the last financial year, said the ministry's annual report for 2024-25.
It also gave details on the working of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which acts as the National Central Bureau (NCB) -- the nodal point for Interpol in India.
During the period of April, 2024 to March, 2025, 74 Letters Rogatory (LRs) were sent abroad, out of which 54 pertained to CBI cases and 20 of them to state law enforcement and other central agencies, the report said.
Letters Rogatory is a judicial request to authorities abroad to seek cooperation in a probe being conducted by Indian investigating agencies.
It was confirmed by Indian law enforcement agencies including CBI that 47 LRs were fully executed during the said period and 29 were disposed of as closed/withdrawn on partial execution.
As on March 31, 2025, a total 533 LRs were pending with other countries, out of which 276 pertained to CBI cases and 257 to state police and other central law enforcement agencies.
As many as 32 LRs/treaty based requests were received from various countries requesting to provide assistance in the investigation of criminal matters.
During the year, different Interpol notices were issued by NCB-India for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence in the country.
These included 126 red notices (request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, 89 blue notices (seeking information about a person's identity, location, or activities), 24 yellow notices (global police alert for a missing person), seven black notices (requests about unidentified bodies) and one green notice (a warning issued by Interpol to alert member countries about people who are considered a potential threat to public safety), the report said.
CBI via its Global Operations Centre (GOC) geo-locates wanted criminals and fugitives in cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies via Interpol channels and through issue of notices. On ascertaining location of wanted subjects, CBI coordinates with concerned law enforcement agencies, Interpol national central bureaux of concerned countries, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs, for return of wanted subjects from abroad.
Between April, 2024 and March, 2025, CBI (IPCU) processed and gave comments on more than 22,200 applications for renunciation of Indian citizenship, the report said.
It also gave details on Interpol's stolen and lost travel documents (SLTD) database.
"Till 31.03.2025, data of 1,91,031 stolen /lost/revoked Indian passports has been uploaded in the SLTD database. Upto 31.03.2025, 30 cases regarding use of SLTD recorded Indian passports have been reported/detected by various other NCBs," the report said.