New Delhi: Senior Congress politician TS Singh Deo said that anyone who flees India after committing crimes there should be brought back to face punishment after fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi was apprehended in Belgium.

“Under the protection of foreign jurisdictions, such offenders should not be allowed to evade the law,” the Congress leader added, highlighting the need for responsibility.

The former deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh said that “those who have committed crimes in India and are receiving protection in other countries should be extradited to India.”

The Indian authorities now have the responsibility of providing hard proof and making sure Belgian judges are pleased with India’s jail conditions and dedication to a fair trial, according to former CBI Director AP Singh.

Singh told ANI that 20 years ago, Abu Salem was the last person to be extradited from the European Union.

“The Indian government requested that Mehul Choksi be taken into custody. We must now provide all of the proof that he defrauded the PNB. Time will be needed for the legal procedure. Choksi may argue that since his wife is a Belgian national, he has some legal standing in Belgium. We will need to persuade the Belgian authorities and courts that he will get proper care and that his health issue will be resolved. We will need to persuade them that we will provide him with a fair trial and that our jail conditions are excellent. The hardest is getting someone from the EU. Twenty years ago, Abu Salem was the last person deported from the EU, according to AP Singh.

The Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice, meantime, announced Monday that Mehul Choksi, a wanted Indian businessman, was taken into custody on April 12 and is still being detained. India has also submitted a request for his extradition, according to the Belgian authorities.

“At last, the Belgian federal public service of justice can attest that Mr Choksi’s extradition request has been submitted by Indian authorities. No further information can be made public at this time, as is customary in particular circumstances,” they said.

The CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are looking for the 65-year-old fugitive diamond dealer who left India on January 2, 2018, on suspicion of cheating the Punjab National Bank (PNB) out of Rs 13,850 crore. He was also complicit in the scam alongside his nephew, Nirav Modi.