Vijay Mallya arrested in London: Big success for govt and finance ministry, says Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said Vijay Mallya’s arrest in a big success for the government.

In a big breakthrough for the Indian government and law enforcement authorities, Britain’s Scotland Yard on Tuesday arrested beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya in London. Union Minister Jitendra Singh hailed his arrest as a big success for the BJP-led Central government. In a statement to news agency ANI today, Singh was quoted as saying: “It is a big success of Indian Government and the finance ministry.” Mallya, was however, granted bail later on by a magistrates’ court, according to reports. Meanwhile, Mallya responded to the news about his arrest on Twitter saying: “Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in Court started today as expected.”

Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said, “Vijay Mallya will be brought back to India, due process of law will be followed.” Reacting to the news of his arrest and eventual bail, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala told ANI, “After relentless campaign by Congress, finally extradition request was submitted by Govt in February. But within one hour, Vijay Mallya got bail. So the government should stop misleading the people of India.”

READ: Vijay Mallya arrested in London, granted bail by Magistrates’ court

Mallya, who is wanted in several cases related to economic offences, is likely to be extradited to India. He is also wanted on bank default cases amounting to crores of rupees. The defunct Kingfisher Airlines also owes approximately over Rs 9,000 crore to state-owned private banks.