Interpol chief lauds India''s role in using Red Corner Notice

Manoj Rammohan

Paris, Feb 3 (PTI) India''s usage of the Red CornerNotice (RCN) regime to identify and track down suspects andfugitives has been praised by the chief of Interpol, who wantsthe country''s cooperation to host capacity building sessionsfor police around the world.

"I would say that India is one of our strongestcountries in terms of appreciating the importance of usingRed Corner Notices and tracking down people.

"The issue that comes up time and time again iswhether there is an extradition relationship between thecountry that is seeking the Red Corner Notice and the countrythat is going to give...," Secretary General Ronald K Nobletold PTI here.

The "extradition relationship" between two countriesis an important "issue" when it comes to tracking down andextraditing people who are flashed worldwide through the RCN,the Interpol chief said, adding that the way the RCNs are"publicised", it becomes tough for the individual to travelfreely.

An Interpol RCN is not an international arrest warrantper se, but it allows the warrant to be circulated worldwidewith the request that the wanted person be arrested with aview to extradition.

"The way the person wanted by the Red Corner Notice ispublicised, it comes difficult for the person to travelfreely," he said.

Noble said the Lyon (France) headquartered agencyneeds more help from India for capacity building andstrengthening police forces around the world.

"In Interpol''s perspective, apart from cooperation invarious issues like investigations, Red Corner Notices,another important area where India helps, and we need morehelp from India is in hosting conferences and capacitybuilding sessions for police around the world.

"India has hosted many such events and we need experttraining in organised crime, cybercrime and financial hi-techcrime and India is a leading player (in capacity buildingtraining)," he said.

India''s influence has increased and India''simportance. India is playing a leadership role in capacitybuilding training and law enforcement, he said.

Noble also praised India''s efforts to innovate againstvarious types of crimes.

"India is a very very important member country in theInterpol...India regularly sends its best officers to come andwork at the Interpol headquarters. Whenever the experts aremeeting for various topics, whether its IP (intellectualproperty) crime or terrorism, India participates at thehighest level.

"Historically, the head of CBI has been electedregularly to represent the Asian region in the executivecommittee. In terms of India, there is so much innovationunderway there in the private sector and the same is true inthe public sector. It''s a great, great relationship withIndia," he said.