New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) Criminals and fugitives should not receive safe havens by exploiting differences in international jurisdictions and they should be brought to justice, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan said on Thursday.
In his inaugural address at the 10th Interpol Liaison Officers (ILOs) Conference organised by the CBI, Mohan said the safe havens for crime, proceeds of crime and terrorism anywhere in the world pose a “serious threat to every country”.
“An increasingly interconnected world needs internationally-connected policing. Criminals and fugitives from law should not receive safe havens by exploiting differences in international jurisdictions and they should be brought to justice,” he said.
The conference on “Strengthening International Law Enforcement Partnerships” ahead of the upcoming UN International Day of Police Cooperation saw the participation of senior officers from all law-enforcement agencies of the Centre, states and Union territories and international police liaison officers from several countries.
Law-enforcement personnel from across India and the member countries of Interpol, Europol and GlobE Network joined the session virtually.
The home secretary highlighted the importance of international police cooperation in tackling the rapidly-evolving landscape of technology-enabled crimes, which transcends borders.
“The international dispersal of crime and criminals has enhanced the need for investigation abroad. Prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crime is increasingly reliant on digital evidence and foreign-located evidence,” he said.
Mohan said the spectre of transnational crimes and organised crimes require real-time international police cooperation.
“New-age crimes, including cyber-enabled financial crimes, online radicalisation and transnational organised crime networks, are not confined by borders. In an increasingly-interconnected world, the importance of international police cooperation cannot be overstated,” he said.
The home secretary said there is a need for close coordination and real time co-operation among law-enforcement agencies globally due to the imminent threats posed by terrorism, transnational organised crime networks, online radicalisation, illicit flow of drugs, arms peddling, cyber crime, online child sexual exploitation, human trafficking, wildlife and environmental crimes, economic offences, laundering of proceeds of crime, terror financing etc.
He said a working arrangement with the Europol was signed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in March to strengthen law-enforcement cooperation between India and the European Union (EU). After the home ministry’s approval, the CBI Academy joined the Interpol Global Academy Network in August, 2023 for enhancing police capacity building and India joined the International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database of the Interpol, providing a critical tool for the fight against child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Mohan said the CBI’s Global Operation Centre, set-up in 2022, is handling 200 to 300 requests for assistance, including both incoming and outgoing, on a daily basis.
Referring to various sessions organised during the conference, including on international mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and the MHA portal, he added that ILOs play a key coordinating role in executing letters of request and mutual legal assistance requests.
The MHA, as a central authority of India in this regard, transmits and receives all requests for assistance either directly or through diplomatic channels and the ministry has issued comprehensive guidelines providing a detailed outline for the examination of witnesses and templates for drafting meaningful requests, Mohan said.
The home secretary said an online portal launched in December 2022, which was developed by the MHA in consultation with ILOs and the CBI, has been a gamechanger in onboarding all stakeholders on a single platform, which has a user-friendly interface.
Earlier in the function, CBI Director Praveen Sood said the world today faces a multitude of grave and globalised poly-crimes and threats like terrorism, online radicalisation, cyber-enabled financial crimes, online child sexual exploitation, corruption, drug trafficking, terror financing and organised crime.
“Police in India have been at the forefront of addressing these challenges through a combination of a robust legal framework, innovative initiatives, leveraging technology and proactive international cooperation,” he said.
Sood said law-enforcement professionals need to be well acquainted with various means of coordinating international assistance in criminal matters.
India joined the Interpol in 1949 and has consistently contributed towards its operational and organisational success. PTI ABS RC
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