Seventy-one fugitives wanted by the Indian government were located in a foreign country in 2024-’25, a report by the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions showed.
This figure was the highest in the last 12 years, The Hindu reported. The number of fugitives traced over the previous decade to foreign countries ranged between 15 in 2013 and 42 in 2015, before rising to 71 in 2024-’25.
In its 2024-’25 annual report, the ministry’s Department of Personnel and Training also said that 27 fugitives returned to India in the last financial year. At least 203 fugitives wanted by other countries were detected or located in India during the same period, it added.
Providing details about the working of the CBI, which also acts as the National Central Bureau, the report said that 74 Letters Rogatory were sent abroad between April 2024 to March 2025. Letters Rogatory is a judicial request to authorities in other countries seeking cooperation in an investigation being conducted by Indian agencies.
The National Central Bureau is the nodal point for the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, in India.
Fifty-four of the 74 Letters Rogatory sent to authorities abroad from April 2024 to March 2025 pertained to Central Bureau of Investigation cases, while 20 of them to state law enforcement and other central agencies, the report said.
The department added that Indian law enforcement agencies, including the CBI, had confirmed that 47 Letters Rogatory were fully executed during the period and 29 were disposed of as closed or withdrawn on partial execution.
At least 533 Letters Rogatory were pending with other countries as on March 31, 2025, it said, adding that 276 out of this pertained to CBI cases and 257 to state police and other central law enforcement agencies.
The report also noted that 32 Letters Rogatory and treaty-based requests were received from several countries requesting to provide assistance in the investigation of criminal matters.
The department added that the Interpol issued 126 red notices – a request to law enforcement agencies globally to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action – to the National Central Bureau.
It added 89 blue notices seeking information about a person’s identity, location or activities, 24 yellow notices or a global police alert for a missing person and seven black notices or requests about unidentified bodies were issued during the period.
One green notice, which is a warning issued by Interpol to alert member countries about persons who are considered a potential threat to public safety, was also issued, the report said.
It added that the CBI processed and gave comments on more than 22,200 applications for renunciation of Indian citizenship on the Ministry of Home Affairs portal.
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