NEW DELHI – India and the UK have signed two agreements on return ofIndians, who are living in Britain as illegal migrants, and sharingcriminal records and intelligence, PTI has reported.
The development comes close on heels of India seeking UK’s help in earlyextradition of liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya from Britain to face the law athome in connection with cases of fraud and money laundering amounting toaround Rs 9,000 crores.
The memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed by UK’s Minister ofImmigration Caroline Nokes and India’s Minister of State for Home AffairsKiren Rijiju on Thursday.
The new deals reflect increased co-operation between the two countries,which already enjoy a close relationship, according to a British governmentrelease issued here today.
“The MoU on criminal records exchange will lead to British and Indian lawenforcement bodies sharing criminal records information, fingerprints andintelligence,” the statement said.
This will assist the police in protecting the public from known criminals,including sex offenders and also allow the courts in both countries toaccess more information to support tougher sentencing decisions.
The agreement on returns paves the way for a quicker and more efficientprocess for documenting and returning Indian nationals who have no right tobe in the UK to India, it said.
This has proven difficult in the past due to some Indians not having therequired paperwork or travel documentation for them to be accepted back intheir home country.
The official release added that the agreement commits both countries totaking a more flexible approach to verifying the identity and nationalityof individuals, which will help speed up the returns process.
“I was very pleased to welcome the Indian Home Affairs Minister to the UK.The agreements we’ve signed cover the important issues of returns andcriminal records exchanges to the mutual benefit of both countries,” Nokessaid.
“The minister’s (Rijiju’s) visit forms part of our ongoing dialogue anddemonstrates the strong and positive relationship between our two nations,”she was quoted as saying in the statement.
“As my predecessor in this role noted during his visit to India lastNovember, we are determined to create a ‘living bridge’ of people, ideas,institutions and technology between our two great countries. These newagreements are yet another example of the value we place on our strongpartnership.”
Details of the types of information exchanged through the MoUs andoperational procedures, together with the details of any restrictions onusing or disclosing the information will be the subject of furthernegotiations, the statement said.
The documents recognise the need to respect privacy, civil liberties andhuman rights.
Rijiju was on a London visit at the invitation of Nokes’ predecessor,Brandon Lewis, following their successful meeting in India in November 2017.
In addition to formalising the two agreements, Rijiju also visited theHeathrow Airport to see first-hand how Border Force, a law enforcementcommand within the Home Office, uses technology such as biometrics ande-passport gates.