Govt to hire UK arbitrator to bring back Vijay Mallya

Move follows poor track record of India in extraditing offenders from Britain

The government is planning to get on board a UK-based “independent arbitrator” to appear on behalf of Indian authorities and put up a strong case of extradition against absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya, an Enforcement Directorate (ED) official said. 

The move comes in view of India’s past experiences with extradition cases and long-drawn legal processes.

Mallya was briefly arrested in London on Tuesday over accusations of fraud by Indian probe agencies and presented before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court for an extradition hearing. He was released on bail a few hours later.

The 61-year-old businessman had fled India last year after banks started seeking