288 fugitives brought back from 36 countries since 2019
AMN
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched a new Extradition Portal to synergise and expedite efforts to bring fugitives from abroad back to India, saying 288 fugitive criminals have been successfully brought back from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026.
Home Minister also highlighted improved inter-agency coordination in the fight against terrorism, saying more than 40 modules of the Shahzad Bhatti network involved in cross-border smuggling of weapons, explosives and narcotics were busted, with over 100 FIRs registered and 350 people arrested across 15 states. He made the remarks while inaugurating the conference on ‘PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy’ in New Delhi.
PRAHAAR strategy to reach police station level
The conference deliberated on the seven pillars of PRAHAAR — Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery & Resilience — through a whole-of-society approach.
HM Shah stressed the need to take the counter-terrorism strategy down to the police station or ‘thana’ level and adopt a proactive, result-oriented approach towards every aspect of PRAHAAR.
He also urged State Police Forces to establish dedicated teams to work in close coordination with central agencies for expediting the process of bringing fugitives back to India.
HM Shah called for institutionalising an automated counter-terrorism response at every level and stressed the need for continuous analysis of terror incidents to strengthen the PRAHAAR mechanism and make it more effective over the next decade.
Zero tolerance towards terrorism
In his address, HM Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government of India has adopted a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy towards all forms and manifestations of terrorism.
He emphasised the need for a result-oriented approach towards each pillar of PRAHAAR and called for close coordination among stakeholders to prevent any delay in action.
HM Shah also said the government had declared the Shahzad Bhatti network a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The conference was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, heads of CAPFs/CPOs, DGsP of 15 states and ATS chiefs of all states and Union Territories in person, while other State DGsP and senior police officers joined virtually.
-PIB Inputs