India sgns pacts with UK on illegal migrants’ return

India and the United Kingdom (UK) have recently signed two agreements on return of Indians, who are living in Britain as illegal migrants and sharing criminal records and intelligence. The development comes close on heels of India seeking UK’s help in early extradition of liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya from Britain to face the law at home in connection with cases of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs. 9,000 crores. The MOUs were signed by UK’s Minister of Immigration Caroline Nokes and India’s Minister of Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on January 11, 2018. The MoU on criminal records exchange will lead to British and Indian law enforcement bodies sharing criminal records information, fingerprints and intelligence. This will assist the police in protecting the public from known criminals, including sex offenders and also allow the courts in both countries to access more information to support tougher sentencing decisions.