Gitanjali Group Chairman and fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi wanted in Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam was arrested in the Caribbean island nation while trying to escape to Cuba from Antigua, where he had been living since 2018.
Now a court in Dominica has put on hold the deportation of fugitive diamond jeweler Mehul Choksi. Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne had asked Dominica to send him back to India directly but this has been contested by his lawyers, who claim that the wanted businessman cannot be sent to India as he is is no longer a citizen of the country.
Meanwhile, Mehul Choksi's legal team in Dominica had filed a petition after they were allegedly not given access to him, local media reported. They also claimed that 'marks of torture' have been reported on his body.
Choksi's lawyer Vijay Agarwal claimed that he was forced to get into a vessel from Antigua and was taken to Dominica. Agarwal also alleged that Choksi may have been 'tortured' as there are marks on his body of the force.
Agarwal also said that the legal team has filed a habeas corpus petition in Dominica for Choksi and has also highlighted deprivation of access to him and deprivation of constitutional rights to legal assistance. He called the entire episode of his mysterious disappearance and detention in Dominica 'fishy'.
His remarks came after Choksi, who is wanted by the CBI and the ED in connection with the over Rs 13,500 crore PNB loan fraud case, has reportedly been taken into custody in Dominica. Yesterday, the Dominica government confirmed his presence on its soil saying he has been 'detained' for illegal entry.
Notably, Choksi was reported missing on Sunday from Antigua and Barbuda, where he had taken citizenship, sparking a manhunt for the fugitive businessman.
The diamond jeweler, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, is wanted in India for allegedly siphoning off Rs 13,500 crores of public money from the state-run Punjab National Bank using fake documents.
