The returns, completed between 2019 and July 2026, included people wanted in terrorism, organised crime, murder and financial fraud cases. The figure represents an average of nearly 40 fugitives returned each year, compared with about four annually between 2004 and 2013.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has credited stronger laws, closer coordination among enforcement agencies and expanded cooperation with foreign governments for the increase. The government has designated the pursuit of fugitives as a national priority, arguing that offenders should not be able to evade prosecution by crossing international borders.
Among the prominent suspects brought back was Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who was extradited from the United States in April 2025. Rana is accused of involvement in the conspiracy behind the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which killed 166 people. He has denied the charges.
The government’s strategy rests on three elements: international operations, coordination between domestic agencies and diplomatic engagement with countries where suspects are located. Investigators have increasingly used financial trails, immigration records, satellite information and digital footprints to identify fugitives who have changed their names or identities.
Operation Trishul, coordinated through the Central Bureau of Investigation, has been used to locate suspects abroad and facilitate their return through extradition, deportation or other legal channels. Officials say the operation has strengthened the exchange of information between police forces, immigration authorities and international law enforcement bodies.
The launch of BHARATPOL has also widened access to INTERPOL systems. More than 1,400 police and enforcement units are connected through the platform, allowing state and central agencies to send international cooperation requests through a common digital network.
The system has reduced the time needed to share information from several months to between three and 10 days in some cases. Authorities expect it to help police obtain notices, intelligence and assistance from foreign jurisdictions without lengthy administrative delays.
INTERPOL Red Notices have been issued against 401 fugitives over the past three years. A Red Notice asks law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or a comparable legal process. It is not an international arrest warrant, and each country applies its own laws when acting on one.
Legal changes have accompanied the operational measures. Amendments to the National Investigation Agency Act and the Unlawful Activities Act in 2019 expanded investigative powers in terrorism-related cases and allowed individuals to be designated as terrorists.
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure in July 2024, permits trials in absentia in specified cases involving proclaimed offenders. Sections 355 and 356 allow courts to proceed against accused people who deliberately evade trial, subject to procedural safeguards.
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, enacted in 2018, enables special courts to confiscate properties belonging to people accused of major economic offences who remain outside the country to avoid prosecution. The law applies where the value involved is at least ₹100 crore.
Enforcement agencies attached assets worth ₹17,874 crore belonging to fugitive offenders between 2019 and 2026. Authorities also recorded restitution of ₹18,762 crore, including money recovered from economic offenders who had left the country.
Extradition remains a complex process because foreign courts examine whether requests meet treaty obligations, evidentiary standards and human rights protections. Proceedings can take years when defendants appeal, challenge prison conditions or argue that charges are politically motivated.
India has extradition treaties with more than 40 countries and arrangements with several others. Where no treaty exists, authorities may seek deportation, expulsion or cooperation based on reciprocity and domestic law.
(IPA Service)
