NEW DELHI : Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi left for London on Monday for talks between India and Britain on issues such as the extradition of fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya and former IPL chief Lalit Modi.Home ministry officials are tight-lipped about the week- long visit of the country’s top security officer to London, but sources said it bears significance as New Delhi has been making active efforts to bring Mallya and Modi back from Britain.
His visit comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with his British counterpart Theresa May in Hamburg, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting there. Modi had asked for Britain’s cooperation in sending “economic offenders” back to India. Mehrishi is expected to hold talks with his UK counterpart Patsy Wilkinson, the second permanent secretary in the British Home Office,.
India has already assured Britain of all assistance in extradition matters to allow the Crown Prosecution Services to present water-tight cases against Mallya before the courts there. Mallya has been in Britain for over a year, escaping arrest warrants against him, while a court in London is also hearing a case regarding his return to India. Mallya, who is wanted in India for Kingfisher Airlines’ default on loans worth nearly Rs 9,000 crore, has been in Britain since March 2016.
In April, he went to a central London police station, was arrested and released on conditional bail a few hours later after providing a bail bond worth 650,000 pounds. He assured the court that he would abide by all conditions associated with extradition proceedings, such as the surrender of his passport.Lalit Modi, the former chief of the Indian Premier League, is also wanted by the Indian authorities with respect to a money laundering probe and is said to be in the UK. He has maintained that he has not done any wrong in any of the IPL deals. In Hamburg meeting, PM Modi asked May for Britain’s “cooperation for the return of escaped Indian economic offenders”.