Interpol issued a blue corner notice against Prajwal

GS Paper II (Governance):

It highlights the importance of international cooperation in criminal justice matters. Interpol serves as a vital platform for such collaboration.

GS Paper III (Internal Security):

Interpol plays a role in combating transnational crimes like terrorism, drug trafficking, and cybercrime, which are relevant to India’s internal security.

Why in news ?

Amid a political storm in Karnataka over grave allegations of sexual abuse against Prajwal Revanna, sitting Hassan MP and grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, the International Criminal Police Organisation, commonly known as Interpol, has issued a blue corner notice against the absconding politician.

Reasons for Blue Notice

The international organisation issues a blue corner notice when the case is related to missing persons.

Also called an“enquiry notice,”such an alert is sent for additional information from member states about aperson,to verify their identity, location, or criminal record concerning a criminal investigation.

It is different from a red corner notice, considering that the purpose of a blue notice is information about a person of interest in an investigation, whilethe former is generally issued against a person wanted for extradition,or serve a sentence based on a court decision, or a similar lawful action.

Interpol issued a blue corner notice against Mr. Revanna after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Karnataka government sought the help of the CBI for further inquiry.

How does the Interpol alert countries?

The Interpol is an inter-governmental law enforcement organisation which assists and facilitates cooperation between national law forces in 196 member countries to combat transnational crimes.

It is headquartered at Lyon, France.

The organisation shares information regarding crimes and wanted criminalsglobally,and provides technical, operational, and investigative support to locate fugitives.

It manages a database of critical data about wanted criminals, which member countries can use to trace such individuals.

The agency has a National Central Bureau in all member countries which is a single point of contact between law enforcement agencies of that country and Interpol.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is officially designatedas the nodal agency for India.

The agency uses a‘colour-coded’system to alert and share requests for crime-related information among member countries and global organisations. Notably, member countriesare not boundby international law to abide by Interpol notices as they are entirely discretionary.

Interpol’s Color-Coded Notice System

Interpol uses a system of color-coded notices to communicate information requests and alerts among member countries. Here’s a breakdown of the most common ones:

Red Notice:

Issued for the location and arrest of individuals wanted for prosecution or extradition based on a valid national arrest warrant.

Yellow Notice:

Used to help locate missing persons, especially minors, or to help identify individuals who are unable to identify themselves.

Blue Notice:

A request for information about a person’s identity, location, or activities in connection with a possible criminal offense.

Green Notice:

Provides warnings and criminal intelligence about individuals likely to commit criminal offenses.

Orange Notice:

Issued to warn about an event, a person, an object, or a process that poses a serious and imminent threat to public safety.

Purple Notice:

A request for information about criminals’ methods of operation, objects, gadgets, and hiding tactics.

Black Notice:

Seeks information on unidentified bodies.

Interpol-UN Security Council Special Notice:

Issued for people and companies subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions.