In 2024-25, at least 70 fugitives wanted by India were tracked down abroad. An annual report of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions was released, which then highlights that 203 fugitives wanted by other countries were detected/located in India during the same period.
The number of such wanted fugitives located abroad is the highest in over ten years, officials claimed. Of the wanted, 27 fugitives returned to India from abroad.
During the period of April, 2024 to March, 2025, 74 Letters Rogatory (LRs) were sent abroad, out of which 54 pertained to CBI cases and 20 of them to state law enforcement and other central agencies, the report said. (Letters Rogatory is a judicial request to authorities abroad to seek cooperation in a probe being conducted by Indian investigating agencies.)
It was confirmed by Indian law enforcement agencies, including CBI, that 47 LRs were fully executed during the said period, and 29 were disposed of as closed/withdrawn on partial execution.
As of March 31, 2025, a total of 533 LRs were pending with other countries, out of which 276 pertained to CBI cases and 257 to state police and other central law enforcement agencies. As many as 32 LRs/treaty-based requests were received from various countries requesting to provide support in the investigation of criminal matters.
During the year, different Interpol notices were issued by NCB-India for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence in the country. These included 126 red notices (request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, 89 blue notices (seeking information about a person's identity, location, or activities), 24 yellow notices (global police alert for a missing person), seven black notices (requests about unidentified bodies) and one green notice (a warning issued by Interpol to alert member countries about people who are considered a potential threat to public safety), the report said.
CBI, via its Global Operations Centre (GOC), geo-locates wanted criminals and fugitives in cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies via Interpol channels and through the issuance of notices. On ascertaining the location of wanted subjects, CBI coordinates with concerned law enforcement agencies, Interpol national central bureaux of concerned countries, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of External Affairs, for the return of wanted subjects from abroad.
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