India, UK agree to expedite extradition process

New Delhi May 4 (IANS) In the backdrop of liquor baron Vijay Mallya s extradition demand India and the UK on Thursday agreed to expedite the extradition process of wanted persons.

The decision was made in the first Home Affairs dialogue between the two countries here.

The Indian side was led by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi while the British delegation was led by Patsy Wilkinson from the Home Office.

The meeting was held as a follow up to British Prime Minister Theresa May s visit to India in November 2016 and the commitment of the two Prime Ministers for enhanced and strengthened dialogue.

Both sides expressed satisfaction in matters relating to extradition of wanted persons. The process involved in matters of extradition and the need to further improve them were also discussed Home Ministry advisor Ashok Prasad said.

Asked about Mallya s extradition Prasad said: These matters are not discussed at this level. It is discussed at agency level. The idea was to identify and remove the bottlenecks and make the process simpler.

Mallya who fled to Britain in March 2016 after being pursued for the recovery of Rs 8 191 crore his now defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes to Indian banks was arrested and bailed in London last month.

The next hearing of the case will be on May 17.

The Indian government had in February handed over to British authorities a formal request for Mallya s extradition saying it had a legitimate case against him on charges of financial irregularities and loan default.

--IANS
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