The government of Dominica on Wednesday told the High Court of that country, hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi—wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case in India–that he has to be deported to India. The court, while adjourning the matter till Thursday, ordered that Choksi be brought before a magistrate court immediately on the charge of illegally entering the country.
During the hearing on Wednesday, Choksi’s counsel argued that he doesn’t feel safe in the police custody in Dominica.
Choksi’s lawyers had filed the habeas corpus plea last week after he was detained in Dominica, allegedly for having entered the country illegally from Antigua and Barbuda. His lawyers have alleged that he was “abducted” and “forcibly taken” to Dominica. They have also alleged that he was assaulted and there are “marks of injury” on his body.
Meanwhile, Choksi’s wife Priti said that the woman who is rumoured to be his girlfriend is known to her husband and to his other acquaintances. “The woman was known to my husband and to his other acquaintances. She walked with my husband periodically when she was visiting Antigua. From what I have understood from people who have met her, the woman shown on media channels is not the same woman that they knew as Barbara,” she said.
These remarks came after Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne last week had said Choksi may have taken his girlfriend on a romantic trip to Dominica, where he was busted.
On the reports that fugitive diamantaire was tortured in Dominica, Priti said, “What has brought most anguish to the family is the physical torture and total disregard for the human rights of my husband. If someone really wanted him back alive, why did they need to torture and abuse him physically and mentally? My husband has many health issues.”
On the question of Choki’s deportation, his wife said, “He is 63 years old and he is an Antiguan citizen. He enjoys all the rights and protection that the Antigua and Barbuda constitution gives him. I have full faith in the rule of law and the justice system of the Caribbean nations. We await his safe and rightful return to Antigua at the earliest.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Antigua Prime Minister had told ANI that his government stands by its request for Dominica to extradite Choksi back to India.