JOIN USUAE extradited 19 in 16 years; 2 since 2014
India has been finding it easier to bring back fugitives from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) than from any other country.
The UAE extradited as many as 19 fugitives to India since 2002 and 17 of them were brought back before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government took office in New Delhi in May 2014.
Christian Michel, a reported “middleman” in AgustaWestland chopper scam, is the 19th fugitive, whom the UAE has extradited to India in the past 16 years.
The BJP has gone gaga over his extradition on Tuesday and has projected the extradition as a “diplomatic victory” of the Modi government.
The ruling party is trying to reap the political dividend out of the extradition of the 57-year-old UK citizen, insinuating that his interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) might put the “first family” of the Opposition Congress in trouble.
A Ministry of External Affairs document, however, reveals that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has been more successful in getting India’s fugitives extradited from the UAE than the current dispensation.
Before Michel was brought back to New Delhi on Tuesday, the Modi government could get only one fugitive extradited from the UAE to India in the past four-and-a-half years— Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, a reported operative of the terrorist organization Indian Mujahideen.
Siddibapa, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka, was extradited from the UAE to India in May 2016.
The UAE also deported— not extradited —Mohammad Farooq Yasin Mansoor to India in March this year.
Mansoor alias Farooq Takla is a close aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and one of the accused in the 1993 Mumbai blast case.
The nine fugitives extradited from the UAE to India during the tenure of Congress-led UPA government from 2004 to 2014 included reported economic offender M Varatharajaloo, murder Shammi Kumar, terror operatives like Akhtar Hussaini and Abdul Sathar, as well as D-Company members Tariq Abdul Karim (alias Tariq Parveen) and Umarmiya Bukhari (alias Mamumiya).
India and UAE had inked the extradition treaty in 1999.
India’s success rate in bringing its fugitives back from the UAE was at its highest between 2002 and 2004, when the late former prime minister A B Vajpayee was heading the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
The UAE extradited as many as eight fugitives to India between February 2002 and March 2003, including underworld operative and terror financier Aftab Ahmed Ansari and Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Iqbal Sheikh Kaskar as well as Izaz Pathan and Mustafa Ahmed Omar Dosa, two accused in the 1993 Mumbai blast, according to the document compiled by the MEA and updated till October 31 this year.
While India could get 66 of its fugitives extradited from other countries since 2002, the UAE alone has sent back 19 of them.
The USA extradited nine fugitives to India, while Canada and Thailand sent back four each during the past 18 years.
The MEA did not put out the list of fugitives extradited before 2002.
Sources told the DH that apart from cordial relations between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi, what had also helped India get this many fugitives extradited was the legal system in the Emirates.
India, however, found it extremely difficult to get its fugitives extradited from the United Kingdom.
Though India has a bilateral extradition treaty with the UK since 1993, it hasn't helped much.
The UK’s complex legal system provides enough safeguards for fugitives from other nations to resist extradition.
While India sought extradition of 29 fugitives from the UK since 2002, only one— 2002 Gujarat riot accused Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel— could be brought back, so far.
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The UK government declined to act on extradition requests from its counterpart in India in as many as nine cases.
The UK courts turned down pleas for extradition to India in three cases.
As many as 15 extradition pleas by New Delhi are pending before the UK courts, including the one for business tycoon Vijay Mallya, who is wanted in India for his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines' default on loans worth nearly Rs 9,000 crore.
India in August this year also requested the UK to extradite diamond merchant Nirav Modi, who is accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of Rs 14,000 crore.
India has been finding it easier to bring back its fugitives from United Arab Emirates (UAE) than from any other country.
The UAE extradited as many as 19 fugitives to India since 2002 and 17 of them were brought back before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government took office in New Delhi in May 2014.
Christian Michel, who allegedly played “middleman” in AgustaWestland chopper scam, is the 19th fugitive, whom the UAE extradited to India in the past 16 years. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has gone gaga over his extradition on Tuesday and projecting it as a “diplomatic victory” for Modi Government. The ruling party is trying to reap the political dividend out of the extradition of the 57-year-old UK citizen, insinuating that his interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) might put in trouble the “first family” of the opposition Congress.
A Ministry of External Affairs document, however, reveals that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has been more successful in getting India’s fugitives extradited from the UAE than the current dispensation.
Before Michel was brought back to New Delhi on Tuesday, the Modi Government could get only one fugitive extradited from UAE to India in the past four-and-a-half years – Abdul Wahid Siddibapa, an alleged operative of the terrorist organization Indian Mujahideen. Siddibapa, a resident o Bhatkal in Karnataka, was extradited from UAE to India in May 2016.
The UAE also deported – not extradited – Mohammad Farooq Yasin Mansoor to India in March this year. Mansoor alias Farooq Takla is a close aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and one of the accused in the 1993 Mumbai blast case.
The nine fugitives extradited from UAE to India during the tenure of Congress-led UPA Government’s tenure from 2004 to 2014 included alleged economic offender M Varatharajaloo, murder Shammi Kumar, terror operatives like Akhtar Hussaini and Abdul Sathar, as well as D-Company members Tariq Abdul Karim (alias Tariq Parveen) and Umarmiya Bukhari (alias Mamumiya).
India and UAE inked the extradition treaty in 1999.