Will Sushma Swaraj now bring Nirav Modi back to India, asks P Chidambaram

In a veiled attack on the Modi government over its inability to bring back fugitive businessman Nirav Modi to India, former Union Finance Minister P Chidamabaram on Saturday questioned Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, asking if she would now get the businessman extradited to India.

The Congress leader’s remarks came after The Telegraph, a British newspaper, claimed that Modi has been spotted in London.

Earlier in the day, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the UK Home Secretary has referred India's request to extradite fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi to a court there for initiating legal proceedings.

"The UK Central Authority of Home Office has confirmed that the extradition request has been sent to the Westminster Magistrate Court for further proceedings," said an official. The request to the court was forwarded by the UK Home Office a few days ago, the official added.

The request for extradition of Nirav Modi, wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, was sent to the UK authorities in July 2018.

Earlier in the day, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, based on the information received from the ED and the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), the Ministry had made the request for Nirav Modi's extradition with the UK authorities in August 2018.