Over 70 Indian fugitives traced abroad in 2024-25: report
Over 70 fugitives wanted by India were traced abroad in 2024-25, the highest in over a decade, according to an official report. During the same period, 203 foreign fugitives were detected in India, with the CBI playing a key role through Interpol
New Delhi: Over 70 fugitives wanted by India were located abroad during 2024-25, according to an official report.
As many as 203 fugitives wanted by other countries were detected or located in India during the same period.
A total of 71 “wanted persons or fugitives wanted by India” were located abroad in 2024-25, according to the annual report of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
The number of such wanted fugitives located abroad is the highest in over a decade, officials claimed.
A total of 27 fugitives or wanted persons returned to India from abroad in the last financial year, said the ministry’s annual report for 2024-25.
It also gave details on the working of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which acts as the National Central Bureau (NCB), the nodal point for Interpol in India.
During the period from April 2024 to March 2025, 74 Letters Rogatory (LRs) were sent abroad, out of which 54 pertained to CBI cases and 20 to state law enforcement and other central agencies, the report said.
Letters Rogatory is a judicial request to authorities abroad seeking cooperation in a probe being conducted by Indian investigating agencies.
It was confirmed by Indian law enforcement agencies, including the CBI, that 47 LRs were fully executed during the said period and 29 were disposed of as closed or withdrawn on partial execution.
As on 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 or treaty-based requests were received from various countries seeking assistance 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 (requests 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 alerts for missing persons), seven black notices (requests related to unidentified bodies) and one green notice (a warning issued by Interpol to alert member countries about people considered a potential threat to public safety), the report said.
The CBI, through its Global Operations Centre (GOC), geo-locates wanted criminals and fugitives in cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies through Interpol channels and the issue of notices. After ascertaining the location of wanted persons, the 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 their return from abroad.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, the CBI (IPCU) processed and gave comments on more than 22,200 applications for renunciation of Indian citizenship, the report said.
It also gave details on Interpol’s stolen and lost travel documents (SLTD) database.
“Till 31.03.2025, data of 1,91,031 stolen, lost or revoked Indian passports has been uploaded in the SLTD database. Upto 31.03.2025, 30 cases regarding the use of SLTD-recorded Indian passports have been reported or detected by various other NCBs,” the report said.