Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday urged the states and Union Territories to establish "special" prison cells for wanted fugitives that meet international standards, so they cannot argue in foreign courts that extradition to India would violate their human rights.

Several fugitives, including businessmen Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, have cited "the poor and inhuman prison conditions" in India while arguing in foreign courts against their extradition.

"This (special jails) is needed because fugitives argue in foreign courts that prisons in India are not up to standard, that their human rights will not be protected," Shah said.

"While I don't agree with that, if it's an excuse, why give them the chance? Every state capital should have a cell that conforms to international standards in its entirety."

Addressing a CBI-organised, two-day conference here on the "Extradition of fugitives: Challenges and strategies", Shah also suggested a national database of fugitives.

"We need to have a national database with details of the person’s crime, his status in the foreign country and his network, etc. It should be shared with all the states’ police forces," he said.

Shah said that every state and Union Territory should have a "special cell, too, which will focus only on extradition requests".

"Until we generate fear for the Indian legal system in the minds of fugitives who are hurting the Indian economy, our sovereignty, and our security from abroad, we cannot ensure the security of the country," he said.

Some 388 extradition requests from India are pending with various countries, relating to people wanted for financial crimes, terrorism, narcotics smuggling and other offences. Apart from this, 957 Interpol red notices have been issued against various fugitives.

Shah suggested that each state’s police, supported by the Intelligence Bureau and the CBI, set up a coordination group for narco, terrorism, financial and cyber criminals.

"At present, there are a few special cells in state police departments. I urge all the police chiefs to set up such special cells as soon as possible. The CBI should also establish a dedicated unit on extradition issues to guide the state police cells," Shah said.

He added: "While maintaining a zero-tolerance policy against corruption, crime and terrorism within the country, we must also adopt a zero-tolerance and ruthless approach towards those conducting such activities from beyond India’s borders.

"It is our responsibility to bring all such criminals under the purview of Indian laws, and to create a robust mechanism for this purpose…."

The two-day conference, which began on Thursday, will discuss subjects such as cyber technology, financial crimes, money sources and trails, simplification of the extradition process, the creation of a database of fugitives’ geographical locations, and cooperation with international police on the matter, Shah said.