Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) Left red-faced following the bloopers in India’s list of Most Wanted terrorists hiding in Pakistan, the Indian government Friday asked all probe agencies and states to review their lists of fugitives every three months.

The union home ministry forwarded an advisory to all the states, union territories and investigating agencies, asking them that the central government should be informed “immediately” if anyone on the Most Wanted list was arrested or killed so that his or her name is deleted.

An official said that the move was to ensure that the list of Most Wanted people that appears on the websites of investigation agencies or is shared with other countries is error free.

The move came a day after one more person in the list of 50 fugitives given to Pakistan was found in India.

Feroze Abdul Rashid Khan, who figured at No.24 in the list, was found in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail facing trial in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

He was the second person from the list found to be within the country. Earlier this week, Wazhul Qamar Khan - at No.41 in the list given to Pakistan - was found living in Thane district near Mumbai.

Home ministry officials said the list, given to Pakistan during the March 28 home secretary level talks, was compiled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Intelligence Bureau, National Investigation Agency and other security agencies of the government.

An official said the CBI had held three rounds of meetings before finalising the list.

“Unfortunately, the error still occurred and we are trying our best to ensure a foolproof mechanism for the future,” the official said.

Meanwhile, CBI withdrew the list of the country’s most wanted fugitives hiding in Pakistan from its website for the “purpose of review”.

“We have taken off the list of most wanted men and the Red Corner notice from the official website for the purpose of review. The list will be examined in detail,” CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra told IANS.

Confirming that CBI Director A.P. Singh has ordered a “complete review” of the list, Mishra added: “The list will be thoroughly scrutinised in consultation with state police and other agencies.”

A CBI official said that Feroze Khan’s name in the most-wanted list was a lapse.

“We came to know about the mistake on the day when Wazhul Khan was found living in Thane district near Mumbai,” the official said.

The official also said that they have suspended the officials responsible for mistake.

The CBI has around 550 names in its red corner list and now they will verify and scrutinized every name.

“We will keep track of the most-wanted fugitives of CBI every 24 hours,” said the official.

“To prevent a situation like this we will be very careful,” added the official.