NEW DELHI (TIP): Britain on May 4 assured India that it would make efforts to rein in pro-Khalistan elements operating on its soil and also agreed to share information relating to them with Indian agencies.

Sharing details of the deliberations at the first “Home Affairs Dialogue” meeting here, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and UK’s Second Permanent Secretary, Home Office, Patsy Wilkinson, Adviser in the Ministry of Home Affairs Ashok Prasad said: “We discussed the issue of Khalistani militants based in the UK and they have promised to look into it.”

Though Prasad refused to divulge details, which the Indian side shared with its UK counterparts, sources in the ministry indicated based on “our intelligence input”, the British officials were informed about how “some Sikh groups living in that country are trying to revive the Khalistan movement by providing terror training to the youth and funding hate propaganda against India”. Meanwhile, the major portion of the day-long deliberations revolved around the twin issue of “extradition and deportation” of respective citizens residing in each other’s territories. “On the issue of deportation, both sides agreed to work on identification framework, which both sides will sign in July as a memorandum of understanding (MoU), including on cybercrime and counter-terrorism,” a senior MHA official said.

Mehrishi and Wilkinson agreed to expedite the processes of extraditing fugitives of the two countries, residing in each other’s territories, but Prasad said no specific name was discussed during the meeting.

Sources, however, confirmed India “alluded” to a dozen Indian fugitives, including businessman Vijay Mallya, wanted in a Rs 9,000-crore bank default case involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

Source: The Tribune