Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi alleges India planned his 2021 abduction

Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi on Monday accused India of orchestrating his abduction from Antigua and Barbuda in 2021 to extradite him in connection with the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, Reuters reported.

Choksi, who was arrested in Belgium in April, is one of the prime accused in the case, along with his nephew Nirav Modi.

He had fled India for Antigua and Barbuda in January 2018, a few weeks before the fraud came to light, and became a citizen of the Caribbean nation. Choksi has since been living in Belgium with a residency card.

In July 2021, Choksi had accused Indian agencies of trying to abduct him. The businessman had gone missing on May 23 that year from Antigua and Barbuda, and was detained in Dominica the next day.

On Monday, Choksi’s lawyers told London’s High Court that only India had the motivation and resources to abduct him, reported Reuters.

In a civil suit, Choksi claimed that New Delhi used five persons from the UK to abduct him and torture him while forcibly taking him to Dominica, The Wire reported.

This attempt was allegedly foiled by a Dominican policeman who turned whistleblower and exposed Choksi’s presence on the island.

India’s lawyer Harish Salve said “there is no evidence of India having anything to do with the alleged events”, Reuters reported.

Indian authorities have also...

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