UK prosecution team inspects Tihar Jail to evaluate conditions for possible extraditions.
India assures safe, segregated facilities for high-profile fugitives like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi.
In a step toward advancing India’s extradition requests, a delegation from Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service visited New Delhi’s Tihar Jail to inspect the facilities. The inspection, carried out in July, came after repeated concerns raised by British courts regarding the state of Indian prisons.
The five-member team, which also included officials from the British High Commission, toured the high-security prison and held conversations with inmates to assess the facilities Indian authorities arranged the visit to assure UK courts that extradited individuals would be kept in a secure and humane environment.
The Indian authorities formally guaranteed UK that no extradited person will be subjected to physical abuse or illegal interrogation, The New Indian Express reported.
Past requests to extradite economic offenders such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi have faced setbacks after UK courts questioned prison conditions.
Officials also offered to create special segregated sections within Tihar to house high-profile accused under internationally accepted standards of care and security.
India is currently pursuing the extradition of 178 fugitives worldwide, nearly 20 of whom are in the UK. The list includes Mallya and Nirav Modi, but also arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and several Khalistani leaders.
The visit marks an effort to remove a key obstacle in resolving these long-pending cases.
