Mehul Choksi case: Antigua & Barbuda Cabinet vows to uncover facts of 'abduction' claim

Even as Mehul Choksi continues to peddle the "abduction" theory, the Antigua and Barbuda Cabinet on Thursday discussed the investigation into the matter. While the fugitive's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal that he was abducted from Antigua and Barbuda, tortured by some persons, and forcefully brought to Dominica on May 23, this has not been substantiated so far. The Antigua police have commenced their probe after the fugitive's lawyers wrote to the Police Commissioner on June 6, reportedly providing names of his abductors.

Revealing that they have received no new information from Dominica, the Cabinet of the island nation affirmed that all facts of the alleged kidnapping will be uncovered. This theory has already been rubbished by Mehul Choksi's "friend" Barbara Jarabica who claimed that he intended to use her as a backup plan to make his abduction look authentic. Meanwhile, Gurjit Singh Bhandal who has been accused of playing a role in this purported crime has denied any connection from Choksi's disappearance from Antigua and Barbuda. 

Here is the Antigua & Barbuda Cabinet's full statement: 

India pushes for extradition

Along with Nirav Modi, he has been accused of allegedly siphoning off Rs 13,500 crore of public money from the Punjab National Bank (PNB), using letters of undertaking. Owner of the Gitanjali group, a retail jewellery company, Choksi secured the citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in November 2017 under the aegis of the Citizenship by Investment Programme and fled to the island nation in the first week of January 2018. While India formally sought Choksi's extradition in August 2018, Browne commenced the process of revoking his citizenship on October 14, 2019, 

The Mehul Choksi citizenship issue gained traction again after he was reported "missing" on May 23 after going out for dinner. 4 days later, the Dominican government issued an official statement confirming that the fugitive had been detained for illegal entry into the country. Thereafter, the Antigua and Barbuda PM refused to accept him back and held that the PNB scam accused can be repatriated to India on being declared persona non grata by Dominica.

While the hearing on the habeas corpus petition has been put off till the beginning of July,  Magistrate Candia Carrette-George of the Rouseau Magistrate court denied Mehul Choksi bail. Though he is technically in police custody, he is presently admitted to the Dominica China Friendship Hospital. A day earlier, the Dominican High Court judge Wynante Adrien-Roberts adjourned Mehul Choksi's bail plea till June 11.