IN A bid to further strengthen the legal cases against fugitives Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, the Indian police is seeking to visit prisons in the UK.
The police officials want to study the conditions and structure of prisons in the UK.
The Maharashtra police has already written to the state government regarding the same, and the proposal is under consideration, India Today reported.
Embattled Indian business tycoons Mallya and Modi are currently in the UK and are facing extradition charges.
The business tycoons are wanted by the Indian probe agencies for legal proceedings in connection with alleged financial crimes committed in India.
The duo has complained about the condition of prisons in India to the UK court. Both Mallya and Modi have raised questions about the condition of Indian jails and their poor standards.
The Maharashtra police has asked permission to visit countries such as the UK, other European countries or Israel to learn about Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) standards.
In 2017, India’s federal probe agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), had written to the Maharashtra state government asking to prepare prisons as per the CPT standards.
The team, if given permission to visit British prisons, will have officers from the Mumbai Police, jail, and home ministry.
During their visit to prisons in Britain and European countries, the Indian officials will study how economic offenders are being kept so that they can match the standards at Arthur Road jail in the country’s financial capital, Mumbai.
Barrack number 12 at Arthur Road jail has reportedly been kept for Mallya and Modi.
Meanwhile, Mallya's appeal in the UK High Court against his extradition order has been listed for a three-day hearing from February 11 next year.
Mallya is wanted in India for alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to £1 billion.
On the other hand, diamond merchant Modi is wanted in India in connection with the nearly $2bn (£1.63bn) Punjab National Bank fraud and money laundering case.
Modi is lodged at Wandsworth prison in London since his arrest this year on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard on charges brought by the Indian government, being represented by the UK's Crown Prosecution Service.
