Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne confirmed to a local radio station the arrival of a private jet at the Douglas-Charles Airport in Dominica, the Caribbean island nation where Mehul Choksi, 62, was apprehended for illegal entry on May 27.
Browne said the private jet, flown in from Qatar, was “sent by the Indian government with certain documentation from courts in India to confirm that Mr Choksi is indeed a fugitive. In my understanding, the documentation will be utilised in the court case that will be heard”.
He said a judge in Dominica placed a stay on Choksi’s deportation to India until Wednesday when the case will be heard. “The Indian government seems to be going all out to ensure that he is repatriated to India so that he can face trial there,” he further said.
The Antigua Newsroom which reported the arrival of a private jet at Dominica in a tweet said, “Bombardier Global 5000 aircraft of Qatar Executive landed at the Douglas Charles Airport in Dominica; its arrival has raised questions about who it brought to Dominica and who will be leaving Dominica onboard”.
It also released pictures of the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank scam-accused behind bars with a bloodied left eye and bruises on hands, causing sensation back home. This was the first time that pictures of the diamantaire surfaced after he went missing on May 23. The photos shortly appeared after a court on Friday restrained Dominican authorities from deporting Choksi from the Caribbean island nation until the further hearing of the case on Wednesday, June 2, 2021.
Multiple Indian agencies are believed to be in touch with authorities in Dominica to clarify that Choksi is indeed an Indian citizen who escaped to Antigua and Barbuda to escape legal proceedings in connection with $2-billion fraud case. India through back-channel negotiations and the diplomatic route has clearly told Dominica that the 62-year-old economic offender is a fugitive of India who has an Interpol Red Corner notice issued against him.
Choksi was apprehended in Dominica on Wednesday, May 27, 2021 for illegal entry into the nation days after he went missing from Antigua and Barbuda on May 23. His lawyer Justin Simon alleged that he was beaten after being kidnapped and a case of illegal entry was lodged by Dominica Police.
“We have pictures showing his face which is battered, one of his eyes is swollen and his arm injured. It was simply a physical altercation between himself and whoever. And what he had indicated is that he was beaten, he was roughed up, his jewellery and watch was taken, whatever money he had was taken away from him and he was told that he is going to Dominica so that he can be sent over to India”, Simon told local media in Antigua.
