Explained: What is Interpol's Red Corner Notice and why is it issued?

Interpol's Red Corner Notice is an international notice of wanted persons, it is not an arrest warrant

Interpol, earlier this month, issued a Red Corner Notice against Satinderjeet Singh alias Goldy Brar, a gangster living in Canada. Brar has claimed responsibility for the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29. The notice against Brar was however issued in connection with two earlier cases not connected to the singer's murder. The request for notice was made by the Punjab Police and forwarded by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

What really is a Red Corner Notice, what is its significance, and who might receive one?

What is a Red Corner Notice?

It is an international document against wanted persons, requesting law enforcement agencies around the world to locate and temporarily detain a suspect until their extradition, surrender, or other legal action.

It is not an international arrest warrant.

What is Interpol?

Interpol, or International Criminal Police Organisation, is an inter-governmental body with 194 member countries. It is headquartered in Lyon, France, and has offices in several countries around the world. Founded in 1923, it facilitates global police cooperation to fight international crime.

What does a Red Corner Notice contain?

There are primarily two types of information in a Red Corner Notice:

• Information to identify the wanted person, such as their name, date of birth, nationality, photographs, etc.
• Information about the crime that they are wanted for. These crimes typically include murder, rape, child abuse or armed robbery, according to the Interpol’s website.

What steps are taken before issuing a Red Corner Notice?

• A specialised task force reviews every Red Corner Notice request to ensure its compliance with the Interpol’s rules. The team considers the information available at the time of publication.
• In case new and relevant information is brought to the notice of the General Secretariat, the task force re-examines the case.

What is the significance of a Red Corner Notice?

• Red Corner Notices help in alerting police worldwide about international wanted fugitives. They can thus help expedite extradition process and support the justice system.
• Notably, the subjects of a Red Corner Notice are wanted by a member country or an international tribunal, not the Interpol. Each member country is free to decide the degree of legal value it wants to give to the Red Notice.

How many Red Corner Notices are there?

There are nearly 69,270 valid notices and around 7,500 of them are public. Most notices are restricted for the use of law enforcement agencies. But they are made public when the general public’s help is needed to locate a suspect or the latter poses a threat to public safety. Last year, Interpol issued 10,776 Red Corner Notices.

What are some other Interpol notices?

Interpol issues eight different types of international notices, most of them colour-coded. They include the Red Notice, Green Notice, Yellow Notice, Orange Notice, Blue Notice, Purple Notice, Black Notice, and an INTERPOL–United Nations Security Council Special Notice.

• Red Notice: It is issued to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons for prosecution or sentencing.
• Yellow Notice: To help locate missing persons or to help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves.  
• Blue Notice: To collect additional information about a person’s identity, location, or activities in connection with a crime.  
• Black Notice: To seek information on unidentified bodies.  
• Green Notice: To issue warning about a person’s criminal activities, in case the person is considered a possible threat to public safety.  
• Orange Notice: To warn about an event, a person, an object, or a process that poses a serious and imminent threat to public safety.  
• Purple Notice: To collect or provide information on modus operandi, objects, devices, and concealment methods used by criminals.

INTERPOL–United Nations Security Council Special Notice: Issued for groups and individuals who are the targets of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committees. These notices are made public.

Indians and Red Corner notices

Brar, a resident of Sri Muktsar Sahib who had gone to Canada in 2017, is one of the latest Indian-origin persons to face a Red Corner Notice. In the past, such a notice has been issued against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and his wife Ami Modi, fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, gangster Ravi Pujari, and former D-Company gang member Chhota Rajan.