As crime reporters working in India for several years, Danish and Ruhi Khan had routinely covered the Arthur Road Jail but rarely did the duo get to know the Mumbai Central Prison as intimately as after moving to the UK about a decade ago. There, they joined international press crews in attending trials for extradition requests, where Indian authorities showed the British courts pictures, videos, and statements to prove that the cells were safe and humane enough for fugitives to be brought back to.

London, with its high standards of human rights and strict rule of law, has steadily become the preferred port of call for people fleeing investigation and imprisonment in India. The Khans, who write and broadcast news from the UK and Europe for Indian channels and publications, have closely followed noteworthy escapes such as those of beer baron Vijay Mallya and diamantaire Nirav Modi. They unpack these and 10 other cases of fugitives attempting this route to dodge legal action in India — including for murder, terror, sexual assault, smuggling and financial fraud — in their recent book ‘Escaped’ published by Penguin Random House.