Khurshid raps govt. over 'premature hullaballoo' of Mallya's arrest

Dubbing the government's 'hullaballoo' over liquor baron Vijay Mallya's arrest in London as 'premature and unnecessary', former external affairs minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said it is not a feather in the cap of the Government of India.

Khurshid said the arrest was only a part of the procedure required to further the extradition process.

"Surely, this is not a feather in the cap of the Government of India. This is a procedural matter within the jurisdiction of the UK Police. They go through certain procedures and to begin those procedures for extradition, the presence of the person concerned is necessary which means a technical arrest is to be made. After a technical arrest, bail is granted immediately. Now, the procedures will continue. For the government to be telling people here that they have done a very big thing is a little premature," he told ANI.

Downplaying the din surrounding his sensational arrest in London, Mallya, who is on the run over money laundering charges, after being released took a swipe at the Indian media.

"Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in Court started today as expected," he tweeted.

Earlier today following Mallya's arrest, the Scotland Yard issued a statement saying that the absconding businessman was arrested on behalf of the Indian authorities in relation to accusations of fraud.

"Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Extradition Unit have this morning, Tuesday 18 April arrested a man on an extraction warrant. He was arrested after attending a central London police station, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later today, 18 April," read the official statement of the Scotland Yard.

His arrest came after a Delhi court had issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant against Mallya in connection with the 1995 FERA violation case.

Last month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed that Mallya's extradition has been stratified by the Secretary of State of the U.K. Government and added that a warrant would soon be released against him.