Reversing its earlier stand, the external affairs ministry has issued a request to Britain for the provisional arrest of Ravi Shankaran.
NEW DELHI: Reversing its earlier stand after opposition from the CBI, the external affairs ministry has issued a request to Britain for the provisional arrest of Ravi Shankaran, one of the main accused in the Naval war room leak case and kin of former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash.
After the CBI's initial request in May to seek Shankaran's arrest was turned down by the ministry, the agency again approached the ministry to ask Britain for his provisional arrest, CBI sources said.
The legal and treaties division of the ministry had come out with a "vague explanation" and asked the CBI to provide more proof about Shankaran's presence in Britain, the sources said.
A court here has already declared Shankaran a proclaimed offender and issued a non-bailable warrant against him. This led to the issuance of a Red Corner Notice against him by Interpol.
The sources said proof of Shankaran's presence in Britain had been submitted to the ministry but it had earlier refused to issue the request for his provisional arrest, saying it was too "premature".
However, after the CBI submitted the same facts to the Delhi High Court and the external affairs ministry's stand became public, the ministry quickly got into a damage control mode. It accepted the CBI's second request of October 27 this year and issued a request to Britain this month, asking authorities there to carry out the provisional arrest of Shankaran if he is found in London.
India's request for the provisional arrest of 41-year-old Shankaran, believed to be at present living in Britain, was made under the provisions of Article 12 of the extradition treaty between the two countries.
The request states that "if apprehended, the government of India undertakes to present a formal extradition request for Ravi Shankaran to the government of the UK and Northern Ireland not later than two months from such date of apprehension..."
The CBI had on September 12 attached Shankaran's property and bank accounts after he failed to appear before the agency for questioning.
The CBI registered a case on March 20 against former IAF wing commander Sambhaji Rao Surve, Shankaran, former Navy commanders Vinod Kumar Jha and Vinod Rana, Raj Rani Jaiswal, who allegedly acted as a honey trap for defence personnel, Mukesh Bajaj, retired wing commander S K Kohli and former Naval commander Kulbushan Parashar in connection with the leak of sensitive information from the war room or Directorate of Naval Operations.
Surve, Jha, Rana, Parashar, Jaiswal and Bajaj were arrested, while Kohli and Parashar are cooperating with the CBI.
The cases against all nine persons were registered under various sections of the Official Secrets Act and section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
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