Why in news?

Amid a political storm in Karnataka over grave allegations of sexual abuse against Prajwal Revanna, sitting Hassan MP, Interpol has issued a Blue Corner notice against the absconding politician.

What’s in today’s article?

• Interpol (about, functions, types of Interpol notices, general assembly)
• India and Interpol

Interpol

• About
  • Full Name - International Criminal Police Organisation.
    • Interpol is the radio-telegraph code for the organisation.
  • Interpol is an international police organisation made up of 194 member countries.
  • It does not work under UN.
    • It has enjoyed a special role – that of Permanent Observer at the United Nations - since 1996.
  • It was founded in 1923 and is headquartered at Lyon, France.
• Functions
  • 
  • It is not a police force in the traditional sense—its agents are not able to arrest criminals.
  • It is more of an information-sharing network.
    • It provides a way for national police forces to co-operate effectively and tackle international crime ranging from human trafficking and terrorism to money laundering and illegal art dealing.
  • Sharing of information is done by issuing colour-coded notices in four languages - English, Spanish, French, and Arabic.
  • The organization operates centralised criminal databases that contain fingerprint records, DNA samples and stolen documents.
• Functioning
  • The agency has a National Central Bureau (NCB) in all member countries, which is a single point of contact between law enforcement agencies of that country and Interpol.
  • NCB serves as the national platform for cooperation between domestic law enforcement units and the international police community.
• Types of Interpol Notices
  • 
  • Interpol issues different types of notices which have different objectives. Types of notices issued – Red, Blue, Yellow, Black, Orange, Purple, Green etc.
  • Red Notice - A notification that a member state would like someone arrested.
  • A ‘Blue Corner’ notice is issued 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 a person, to verify their identity, location, or criminal record concerning a criminal investigation.
  • The ‘INTERPPOL-United Nations Security Council Special Notice’ is issued for entities and individuals who are the targets of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committees.
  • States are not obliged to follow these notices, but will often treat them as a warrant for someone’s arrest and extradition.
• Differences between Blue Corner notice and Red Corner Notice
  • The purpose of a ‘blue’ notice is to gather information about a person of interest in an investigation.
  • On the other hand, the red notice is generally issued against a person wanted for extradition, or serve a sentence based on a court decision, or a similar lawful action.
  • In the present case, the investigating team moved for a Blue Corner alert against Mr. Revanna, considering that the investigation is in the early stages and the police are yet to file criminal charges.

India and Interpol

• India has been a member since 1956.
• Like any member nation, India maintains a National Central Bureau (NCB). The NCB is the designated contact point for the Interpol.
  • In India’s case, The CBI is the designated nodal body for the Interpol in India.
• India has collaborated with the Interpol in tackling a myriad of organised crimes such as poaching, wildlife trafficking, spurious drugs and fake medicine rackets, etc.
• India hosted the Interpol General Assembly in 2022 as part of celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence.
  • Also, in November 2021, CBI Special Director Praveen Sinha was elected as a delegate for Asia on the executive committee of the Interpol.