Why did Interpol issue a blue corner notice against Prajwal?

• The International Criminal Police Organisation, commonly known as Interpol, has issued a blue corner notice against an absconding politician.

Interpol:

• The Interpol is an inter-governmental law enforcement organisation which assists and facilitates cooperation between national law forces in 196 member countries to combat transnational crimes.
• The organisation shares information regarding crimes and wanted criminals globally,and provides technical, operational, and investigative support to locate fugitives.
• It manages a database of critical data about wanted criminals, which member countries can use to trace such individuals.
• The agency has a National Central Bureau in all member countries which is a single point of contact between law enforcement agencies of that country and Interpol.
• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is officially designated as the nodal agency for India.

Interpol alerts countries

• The agency uses a colour-coded system to alert and share requests for crime-related information among member countries and global organisations.
• Notably, member countries are not bound by international law to abide by Interpol notices as they are entirely discretionary.

Interpol’s blue corner notice

• The international organisation issues a blue corner notice when the case is related to missing persons.
  • such an alert is sent for additional information from member states about a person,to verify their identity, location, or criminal record concerning a criminal investigation.
• It is different from a red corner notice
  • the purpose of a blue notice is information about a person of interest in an investigation
  • while the red corner notice is generally issued against a person wanted for extradition,or serves a sentence based on a court decision, or a similar lawful action.

Prelims Takeaway:

• Interpol
• CBI