Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi has been admitted to a hospital in Dominica capital on Monday. However, he has tested negative for Covid-19 as per his medical report. Last week, Choksi had gone missing in Antigua and Barbuda and later arrested in Dominica on May 26.
On Saturday, pictures of Choksi released by Antigua Newsroom showed him behind bars and with injuries on his hands and a swollen and bruised left eye. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court allowed Choksi to be sent to a hospital for medical attention and for the administration of a COVID-19 test. Choksi's lawyer had filed a habeas corpus petition in Dominica's court. The lawyers alleged that Mehul Choksi kidnapped by the Antigua police. However, the Antigua police flatly denied these allegations.
Choksi, wanted by CBI and ED in connection with Rs 14500 crore PNB scam had fled abroad in January 2018. Later, he had taken Antigua-Barbuda citizenship only in 2017. Meanwhile, CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are trying to extradite Choksi.
The main accused in this scam was Choksi's nephew Nirav Modi, who is in London's Wandsworth jail. His extradition has also been approved by the court and government there. But Nirav has challenged the extradition decision in the High Court of London. In this case, it may take 10 to 12 months for the High Court to pronounce a decision. The PNB scam came to light in February 2018 when the bank informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it had detected fraudulent and unauthorised transactions worth Rs 11,380 crore at a branch in South Mumbai.
Also Read: