‘Escaped: True stories of Indian fugitives in London’, which is releases worldwide on March 22, tracks 12 true crime cases – ranging from loan defaults to murder.
The book, by London-based journalists and researchers Danish and Ruhi Khan, includes a recap of the more recent cases involving former Kingfisher Airlines boss Vijay Mallya and diamond merchant Nirav Modi, wanted in India on fraud and money laundering charges, as well as some historic ones including those of former Indian Naval officer Ravi Shankaran and Bollywood musician Nadeem Saifi.
Danish Khan said: “These 12 cases were chosen as much for the significance of the allegations against them as for the interesting arguments raised during their hearings and the observations made in their judgments.
“We have studied in much detail many other extradition cases, have had long interviews with experts and pored over case laws and parliamentary reports to understand the principles underlying the extradition process that we explore in our last chapter.”
As journalists covering the recent court cases in London, the couple said they drew on their own observations and reporting and also dug into British archives, old newspaper records and parliamentary reports to review cases dating back to the 1950s that have had a significant impact on the India-UK extradition policy.
“We have used investigative reporting and eye-witness accounts to bring to life the stories of the flamboyant billionaire Vijay Mallya and diamond czar Nirav Modi. We have also made extensive use of the British archives and historical newspapers reports to bring into focus the less heard but extremely important and intriguing stories of other fugitives that throw a spotlight on India over the past seven decades – whether it is the underworld-cricket Bollywood nexus or the Indo-Pak diplomatic wars,” said Ruhi Khan.
The book similarly tracks the lives of all these fugitives who "escaped" from India, many winning their battle against extradition and others carrying on a long-drawn legal fight to stay on in the UK.