Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi has claimed that there is a plot to “kidnap” him from Antigua to neighbouring Caribbean state of Guyana.
In a video message, Mr. Choksi who is wanted for defrauding banks in India said he was willing to cooperate with the investigation in India over online platforms.
“I feel very unsafe. I may be coerced and kidnapped again and taken to Guyana, where there is a strong Indian presence, which may be utilised in an unlawful manner to spirit me away,” said Mr Choksi in a video message. He claimed that the charges against him were false and that he would prove his innocence.
Mr. Choksi said he was yet to recover from the experience of May-June 2021, when he was allegedly kidnapped by a group of non-resident Indians from Antigua to Dominica. “I am fighting the cases both in Antigua and Dominica, but I am very clear that I will come out victorious in the end,” said Mr Choksi who maintained that he was an Antiguan citizen and that he did not try to immigrate to Dominica illegally in the summer.
He said he was open to cooperating with investigating agencies in India through online modalities like Zoom as his health had been deteriorating since the alleged attempted kidnapping.
Mr. Choksi and his legal team have been maintaining that an attempt was made to entice him through a female friend who invited him to her residence, where a team of Indian-origin operatives overpowered him and took him to Dominica with the intention of spiriting him away to India to face charges. He fought legal cases in Dominica and was sent back to Antigua for more legal cases.
Mr. Choksi acquired Antiguan citizenship in 2017 and the cases against him in Dominica and Antigua are related to illegal immigration and revocation of Antiguan citizenship.
Published - November 29, 2021 10:20 pm IST
