India, UK ink pacts on illegal migrants' return, sharing intel

(Eds: Corrects Indian minister's designation in para 3)By H S RaoLondon, Jan 14 (PTI) India and the UK have signed twoagreements on return of In...

(Eds: Corrects Indian minister's designation in para 3)By H S RaoLondon, Jan 14 (PTI) India and the UK have signed twoagreements on return of Indians, who are living in Britain asillegal migrants, and sharing criminal records andintelligence.

The development comes close on heels of India seekingUK's help in early extradition of liquor tycoon Vijay Mallyafrom Britain to face the law at home in connection with casesof fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000crores.

The memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed byUK's Minister of Immigration Caroline Nokes and India'sMinister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Thursday.

The new deals reflect increased co-operation between thetwo countries, which already enjoy a close relationship,according to a British government release issued here today.

"The MoU on criminal records exchange will lead toBritish and Indian law enforcement bodies sharing criminalrecords information, fingerprints and intelligence," thestatement said.

This will assist the police in protecting the public fromknown criminals, including sex offenders and also allow thecourts in both countries to access more information to supporttougher sentencing decisions.

The agreement on returns paves the way for a quicker andmore efficient process for documenting and returning Indiannationals who have no right to be in the UK to India, it said.

This has proven difficult in the past due to some Indiansnot having the required paperwork or travel documentation forthem to be accepted back in their home country.

The official release added that the agreement commitsboth countries to taking a more flexible approach to verifyingthe identity and nationality of individuals, which will helpspeed up the returns process.

"I was very pleased to welcome the Indian Home AffairsMinister to the UK. The agreements we've signed cover theimportant issues of returns and criminal records exchanges tothe mutual benefit of both countries," Nokes said.

"The minister's (Rijiju's) visit forms part of ourongoing dialogue and demonstrates the strong and positiverelationship between our two nations," she was quoted assaying in the statement.

"As my predecessor in this role noted during his visit toIndia last November, we are determined to create a 'livingbridge' of people, ideas, institutions and technology betweenour two great countries. These new agreements are yet anotherexample of the value we place on our strong partnership."Details of the types of information exchanged through theMoUs and operational procedures, together with the details ofany restrictions on using or disclosing the information willbe the subject of further negotiations, the statement said.

The documents recognise the need to respect privacy,civil liberties and human rights.

Rijiju was on a London visit at the invitation of Nokes'predecessor, Brandon Lewis, following their successful meetingin India in November 2017.

In addition to formalising the two agreements, Rijijualso visited the Heathrow Airport to see first-hand how BorderForce, a law enforcement command within the Home Office, usestechnology such as biometrics and e-passport gates. PTI HSRKIS AKJKIS.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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