Declared missing from Antigua on May 23, in handcuffs in Dominica by May 30: Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, who fled India in 2018 after being named in connection with the multi-crore Punjab National Bank scam, may have sacrificed his freedom in a failed bid for a romantic getaway according to the latest development in the unfolding saga.
Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Saturday said early reports indicate Choksi may have been attempting a romantic vacation in Dominica along with his girlfriend when he got caught.
Since Choksi apparently entered Dominica illegally, he may end up being deported to India, Browne said to local news outlet Antigua Newsroom.
“Mehul Choksi may have made a mistake when he travelled to Dominica. The information we are getting now is that he may have taken his girlfriend to Dominica, probably to dinner to have a good time and so on, and got caught. That would have been a monumental error,” Browne said, adding that Antigua could not have deported him but Dominica can as he entered illegally.
“The problem is, if they deport back to Antigua, then as a citizen, and even though his citizenships is unsettled, the reality is he still enjoys constitutional and legal protections as a citizen. We have no doubt that his citizenship ultimately will be revoked as he may not have disclosed certain material and information. Even though our act states that automatically the citizenship will be revoked, there is a process,” he said.
“If you listen to Justin Simon [Choksi’s lawyer], he said categorically that Choksi was not an Indian citizen,” Browne said.
The Dominican High Court has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday. It had earlier prevented immigration officers from imediately removing him from the country after his lawyers filed a writ on his behalf.
News 18 had reported local police saying Choksi was caught as he was disposing of some documents at sea on the Canefield beach in Roseau, the capital of Dominica. "His suspicious act caught the attention of some police officials on duty who went up to him. When they asked for his purpose for visiting the country, he apparently refused to answer," News 18 reported. The report added that Choksi may not have intended Dominca as his final destination but Cuba.
One of Choksi’s lawyers, Cara Shillingford-Marsh, has claimed he was tortured during his apprehension. While on his way to dinner, “7 to 8 men dressed in blue who sounded like Indians and Antiguan police officers placed a bag over his head and forced him onto a sailing vessel at Jolly Harbour, in Antigua which carried a Dominican flag. He said he later arrived in Dominica but en route aboard the vessel, he was beaten, shocked in the eye with an electrical device and other parts of his body," Dominica News Online reported.
Pics of Choksi in custody show bruises on his arm and an apparently red eye.
An Interpol Red Notice has been pending against Choksi since 2018, effectively meaning Choksi could be detained in any of the 194 Interpol member nations.
Choksi's disappearance had come close on the heels of Prime Minister Browne thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his ''act of benevolence'' in generously sending COVID-19 vaccines to the Carribean countries.
