From Mehul Choksi to Sidhu Moose Wala’s alleged killer, 6 recent red corner notices issued by Interpol at India’s request

The investigation into Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala’s death took international proportions this week with the Interpol issuing a Red Corner Notice against Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar who claimed responsibility for the Congress leader’s assassination.

Goldy Brar is currently living in Canada. A native of Sri Muktsar Sahib, he had gone to Canada on a student visa in 2017 and is an active member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, according to Punjab Police. The Red Corner Notice has been issued against Brar in two old cases.

The CBI, which is the liaison agency of the country with the Interpol, said that the Punjab Police had sought the Red Corner Notice against Brar on May 30, a day after the singer was killed, as against the claims of the state police that it had sent the request on May 19.

The Red Corner Notice alerts enforcement agencies of 195 Interpol member countries to locate and detain a fugitive wanted by a requesting member country. The CBI said that a Red Corner Notice is neither mandatory nor a pre-requisite for sending extradition request, more so when the location of the subject is known.

Here’s a look at the most prominent and recent names against whom Red Corner Notices were issued at India’s behest:

BANNANJE RAJA

Gangster Rajendra Shetty alias Bannanje Raja, accused in 44 serious criminal offences including murder, extortion and kidnapping, was nabbed from Casablanca in Morocco and extradited to Karnataka after the Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice against him at India’s request.

In April this year, the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA) Special Court awarded life imprisonment to Bannanje Raja in connection with the killing of BJP leader and industrialist RN Nayak.

NIRAV MODI

The Interpol in July 2018 issued a Red Corner Notice against absconding billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi who is facing probe in a $2 billion PNB scam.

Modi along with his wife, brother and uncle, all accused in the CBI FIRs in the case, had left the country in the first week of January 2018, weeks before country’s biggest banking scam surfaced.

The fugitive diamond merchant remains behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March 2019. As of October 2020, his bail plea had been rejected for the seventh time.

AMI MODI, WIFE OF NIRAV MODI

In August 2020, Interpol issued a RCN against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi’s wife Ami Modi, a US citizen, on the basis of Enforcement Directorate’s request in connection with its probe into the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

The year before that, in September, Interpol had issued a notice against Nehal Modi, brother of Nirav Modi, on charges of money laundering, again at the request of the ED.

MEHUL CHOKSI

In December 2018, Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice against absconding billionaire Mehul Choksi, who is accused of cheating state-run Punjab National Bank to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore in alleged collusion with his nephew Nirav Modi.

Choksi, who escaped in the first week of January 2018 after he and his companies cheated the bank of Rs 7,000 crore, has taken citizenship of Antigua.

RAVI PUJARI

Gangster Ravi Pujari, wanted for many heinous crimes, including murder and extortion, was extradited to India from Senegal in February 2020. A former close aide of India’s most wanted and mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Dawood Ibrahim and gangster Chhota Rajan, Pujari was nabbed in South Africa following a joint operation with Senegal. An RCN was out against the gangster, who was alleged to be involved in at least 97 criminal cases in Karnataka, including 47 from Bengaluru.

CHHOTA RAJAN

Gangster Rajan Sadashiv Nikalje, alias Chhota Rajan, was arrested and deported to India from Indonesia in October 2015 following an Interpol Red Corner Notice. A former member of D-Company, Rajan split with Dawood Ibrahim on communal lines after the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai. He is currently lodged in Tihar Jail’s Super High Security Jail no. 2. The CBI is at present investigating 80 cases against him.