No fresh request concerning Nirav Modi: MEA

On April 5, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh had told the Rajya Sabha that the MEA has submitted a request to Hong Kong authorities for provisional arrest of Modi.

New Delhi, May 3: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said it has not received any fresh request from any probe agency for action against jeweller Nirav Modi, key accused in the PNB loan fraud case.

"At this point of time, we have not received any specific request from our agencies regarding it," MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters. He was asked about reports that Modi was in New York and whether the MEA was aware of it.

"I cannot indulge in speculation. There are reports of him being in many countries. As far as the MEA is concerned, we come into the picture, once we receive a specific request from our agencies vis-a-vis from a particular country," Kumar said.

On April 5, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh had told the Rajya Sabha that the MEA has submitted a request to Hong Kong authorities for provisional arrest of Modi. Modi had fled the country before the PNB fraud came to light.

The MEA had revoked Modi's passport on February 23. Kumar said after revoking Modi's passport, the MEA had followed laid-down norms to inform all passport issuing authorities as well as its missions abroad about the action.

PTI