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The Ministry of Home Affairs has reported that 274 fugitive criminals were brought back to India from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026 (up to July).
The largest categories are murder, robbery and violent crime (62), sexual offences including POCSO cases (53) and organised crime or gangsters (42).
Red Corner Notices issued rose from 40 in 2022 to 182 so far in 2026, with 401 issued over the past three years.
BHARATPOL, launched in January 2025, connects more than 1,400 central and state units to INTERPOL channels, cutting information-sharing time to as little as 3 to 10 days.
Assets worth Rs 17,874 crore belonging to fugitives were attached under the PMLA between 2019 and 2026, with restitution of Rs 18,762 crore carried out.
Enables a person who has left India to avoid prosecution in a scheduled economic offence to be declared a fugitive economic offender by the Special Court constituted under the PMLA, after which their properties — including benami and overseas assets — can be confiscated
The instrument under which assets worth Rs 17,874 crore belonging to fugitives were attached between 2019 and 2026; its Special Courts also hear declarations under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act
Introduced with the three new criminal laws implemented in 2024, these provide for trial in absentia for the first time, allowing the judicial process to be completed even when the accused has absconded
Widened enforcement beyond proscribed organisations to individual terrorists, handlers, funding networks and overseas support systems, extending the reach of action against fugitives
India's National Central Bureau for INTERPOL; it developed the BHARATPOL portal, has established a Special Global Operations Centre to coordinate in real time with foreign police agencies, and has designated INTERPOL Contact Officers in every state and central investigating agency
The international police cooperation organisation through which Red Corner Notices and other colour-coded notices are issued; India hosted its 90th General Assembly in 2022
The intelligence-sharing platform under which a Standing Focus Group was constituted in January 2026 to prioritise fugitive cases, standardise dossiers, bridge information gaps and sustain follow-up with foreign partners
Investigates money laundering and attaches the assets of fugitives under the PMLA, and pursues declarations under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act
The whole-of-government chain comprises the Intelligence Bureau, CBI, Research and Analysis Wing, National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate, Ministry of External Affairs, Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate General of GST Intelligence and state police forces
Extradition is not an administrative transfer but a judicial process in the country where the fugitive is found, and two doctrines decide most cases. Dual criminality requires that the conduct alleged be an offence in both the requesting and the requested country; if the act is not a crime where the fugitive is sheltering, the request fails regardless of Indian law. Double jeopardy bars a second trial for the same offence, and a foreign court will refuse extradition where it concludes the person has already been tried. The release identifies both, along with incomplete documentation and slow processing, as reasons requests were historically denied — and this is why the current approach emphasises standardised dossiers, written assurances tailored to the requested country's legal expectations, and the Standing Focus Group's mandate to prepare cases professionally rather than merely to file them.
Simple Analogy: Requesting extradition is less like sending a summons and more like arguing a fresh case in someone else's court, under their rules of evidence.
Give every Indian law enforcement agency a single channel to INTERPOL assistance
Key: Developed by the CBI and launched in January 2025; integrates the CBI, state police headquarters through INTERPOL Liaison Officers and district police headquarters, connecting more than 1,400 units. Information sought by the CBI is now generally shared within 10 to 20 days and in some cases within 3 to 10 days
Geo-locate absconding criminals who had changed names or identities abroad
Key: Used satellite inputs, surveillance and digital footprint analysis with INTERPOL support, combined with profile mapping to identify fugitives living under assumed identities
Coordinate in real time with police agencies worldwide for faster tracking and apprehension
Key: Works through INTERPOL channels, supported by INTERPOL Contact Officers designated in every state and central investigating agency
Provide national-level institutional support to fugitive cases, including those initiated by state agencies
Key: Constituted in January 2026; prioritises cases, standardises dossiers, bridges information gaps and ensures sustained follow-up with foreign partners
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 and PMLA attachment together allow confiscation without waiting for a completed trial, which is what produced the Rs 17,874 crore of attachments and Rs 18,762 crore of restitution
Trial in absentia under BNSS Sections 355 and 356 is one of the clearest practical changes introduced by the 2024 criminal law overhaul
India hosted the 90th INTERPOL General Assembly in 2022, and BHARATPOL is the domestic architecture built to use INTERPOL channels at scale
The NIA and UAPA amendments of 2019 extended action to individual terrorists and overseas handlers, and 17 of the 274 returns fall in the terrorism and narco-terror category
GS Paper 3 > Internal Security > Money Laundering and Organised Crime; GS Paper 2 > Statutory Bodies
General Awareness > Polity and Current Affairs
General Awareness > Financial Crime and Regulation
General Awareness > Internal Security
General Awareness > Current Affairs
Economic offences, the FEOA and INTERPOL mechanisms recur in Prelims and are standing GS Paper 3 internal security themes
An INTERPOL notice seeking the location and provisional arrest of a wanted person pending extradition; it is a request to member countries, not an international arrest warrant
The requirement that the alleged conduct be an offence in both the requesting and the requested country for extradition to proceed
Completion of trial and prosecution in the absence of the accused, provided for the first time by Sections 355 and 356 of the BNSS
The CBI-developed portal, launched January 2025, linking more than 1,400 central and state law enforcement units to INTERPOL channels
The Intelligence Bureau's platform for inter-agency intelligence sharing, under which a Standing Focus Group on fugitives was set up in January 2026