62 Bangladeshis in Interpol’s red notice, Arav not included

There are 62 Bangladeshis in the list of Interpol’s ‘red notice’. However, there is no mention of Rabiul Islam alias Arav Khan, who is accused in a case filed over the killing of a police inspector, in the list.

The police said they succeeded in issuing a red notice against Arav Khan through Interpol. Now the police will try to bring Rabiul back to the country with the help of the Interpol. The police also said that Rabiul alias Arab is staying in Dubai at the moment.

However, it was not possible to get any confirmation from the Interpol regarding the issuance of red notice against Arav Khan.

Prothom Alo contacted the Interpol through its website on Tuesday at noon. However, there is no response from the international agency as yet. They had not published any information on issuing a red alert against Arav Khan on their website either.

Interpol is the abbreviation of International Criminal Police Organization. It helps detaining criminals who fled to another country after committing any crime. It is a global platform where the member states work together against the criminals.

Red notices can be issued through Interpol with details of suspected criminals who are absconding to another country. The red notice helps inform all the countries about the suspected criminals. It makes it possible to bring a criminal back to the country even if he or she is hiding in another country.

Speaking to Prothom Alo about this, former inspector general of police (IGP) Nur Mohammad said, “A country seeks help from the Interpol if a criminal flees to another country after committing any crime. The Interpol doesn’t arrest anyone. They only request the police of concerned countries to arrest the absconding criminal. Following that, the police of the concerned country act as per their law. The process is easier if there is an extradition treaty between the two concerned countries.

The police officials believe it will not be easy to extradite Arav Khan from Dubai of the UAE even if a red notice is issued against him.

A source at the police headquarters told Prothom Alo that there are two ways to bring back a criminal to the country from abroad. The first one is diplomatic efforts. And the second one is push back where a country sends an absconding back to his or her country on its own initiatives.

The person further said the diplomatic process involves the mutual understanding between the two countries. In this case, the criminal can be brought back even if there is no extradition treaty between the two countries.

However, a certain kind of compulsion exists between the two countries if there is an extradition treaty. It makes the extradition process much easier. Again, the extradition solely depends on the diplomatic relations between the countries involved in case there is no such treaty, the source added.

The source further said, “For instance Suman Sikder alias Musa, who was the prime accused in the case filed over the killing of ruling Awami League leaders Zahidul Islam, was extradited from Oman on the basis of a consensus between the two countries.”

After being confirmed about Musa’s stay in Oman, the National Central Bureau (NCB) of Bangladesh requested the NCB of Oman to arrest Musa. Following that, Musa was arrested by Oman police on 17 May. Later, a nine-member delegation of Bangladesh Police brought Musa back to the country on 9 June last year.

According to the source in the police headquarters, a red notice creates a kind of obligation in sharing information about the absconding criminals among the member states. However, a diplomatic consensus between the two concerned countries is still needed even after the issuance of red notice by the Interpol; otherwise it is impossible to extradite a criminal.

For instance, Bangladeshi top terrorist Jisan Ahmed was arrested by the Dubai police in 2019. However, he could not be extradited despite the diplomatic efforts. Later, he got released and went into hiding.

Bangladesh has a convicted prisoner exchange agreement with the UAE. Therefore, the UAE has an obligation to return a convicted criminal living in the country. However, it is possible to bring anybody back by providing the details of the person even if he is not convicted in any case.

The source in the police headquarters says Arav Khan used a fake Indian passport to go to the UAE. However, he did it by illegal means. He is not an Indian. Bangladesh will try to establish this fact to prove that Arav went to the UAE by illegal means.

If anyone travels to a country by forging a fake passport of another country, then there is a possibility of that person being involved in big crimes there.

Bangladesh will try to convey this message to the UAE through diplomatic channels. And then Bangladesh will try to bring Rabiul back to the country on the basis of a consensus with the UAE.