Vijay Malya, Nirav Modi's extradition soon? UK team visits Tihar jail for inspection

New Delhi: As the Indian government is seeking to bring back fugitives such as Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and others from the UK, a four-member team from Britain visited Tihar jail in Delhi for inspection, sources said on Saturday. 

A team of Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) visited Tihar jail in July to examine closely the conditions of the prison. The team comprising two CPS experts and two British High Commission officials reviewed the facilities at the jail, the sources said.

Also Read

Bomb hoax sparks frantic hotel scans in Tirupati, probe launched

IMD warns of harsher winter across north and central India over next three months

LPG consumption soars to record highs; Check what data says

UK team inspects Tihar's high-security ward

According to officials, the team inspected the high-security ward of Tihar jail and also spoke with the prisoners there. The Indian authorities assured them that if needed, a separate place will be created in the jail premises, where high-profile extraditees like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi can be lodged and their special needs would be taken care of, sources said.

The team assessed several aspects of the jail including accommodation hygiene, basic facilities including healthcare and food and the general environment. The assessment was done to ensure that the economic offenders and absconders who will be extradited to India get a safe and better environment in the Delhi's prison.

178 extradition requests pending abroad 

So far, a total of 178 extradition requests of India are pending in different countries, out of which about 20 are stuck in Britain alone. These include the names of fugutives like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, high-profile arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari and many Khalistani leaders.

Recently, a British court allowed Bhandari's appeal against his extradition to India saying that in Tihar jail, he would be at "real risk" of extortion, accompanied by threat or "actual violence" from other prisoners and prison officials. India was also asked by the UK officials to give a written guarantee that no prisoner in Tihar would be ill-treated.