The Ministry of External Affairs spoke on the arrest of alcohol baron Vijay Mallya in London on Tuesday and said that his arrest in England was in connection with requests by the government to the United Kingdom authorities for his extradition. The MEA further said that legal proceedings for his extradition were already underway in the United Kingdoms and both the governments were in touch with each other on the matter. Earlier today, Mallya had been arrested under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty following India’s requests to extradite him. This arrest had come after just weeks of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s visit to the UK. Meanwhile, the Scotland Yard had also released a statement saying that Mallya, who was declared a proclaimed offender had been arrested on an extradition warrant. Although Mallya has managed to procure bail just 3 hours after his arrest.
He was to appear in Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London. Meanwhile, Union Minister Jitendra Singh had expressed his happiness saying that Mallya’s arrest was a big success for the government and the finance ministry. According to reports, the Mallya case is now to undergo another legal procedure in the United Kingdom to make sure if he could be extradited to India and face charges in the country. Randeep Surgewala of Congress meanwhile had said that the arrest was possible after the Congress party’s relentless campaign and an extradition request was filed by the government in February.
Also watch:
Meanwhile, Mallya, who received bail just 3 hours after his arrest took shots at the Indian media saying that all the news coverage about his arrest and called his just usual India media hype. He said that the extradition hearing in court had started as it had earlier been expected. ANI has reported that the Indian authorities, like the SBI and the High Commission would now start the process of Mallya’s extradition. One of the lawyers, who represents the consortium of banks led by the SBI, said that law must take its own course.