Antigua: A day after returning to Antigua from Dominica, fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi released an audiotape in which he accuses Indian agencies of executing a ‘brazen kidnapping’. The diamond tycoon claims the kidnapping has left permanent scars on his soul in the audio clip.
‘After the torture, I have been left with permanent psychological and physical scars – rather, permanent scars on my soul,’ Mehul Choksi said in the audio clip. The Dominican authorities arrested Choksi, who went missing from Antigua on May 25, for allegedly entering the country illegally. Mehul Choksi has maintained throughout that he was kidnapped, tortured, and forced to flee to Dominica.
‘I could never have imagined that after closing all my businesses and seizing all my properties, I would be kidnapped by Indian intelligence agencies. I heard about it so often, but I never believed that they would go to this extent when I am exercising my legal rights in Antigua,’ Mehul Choksi added.
In the audio clip, Mehul Choksi denied any non-cooperation with Indian agencies and said he was ‘always available’ for questioning. ‘I have spoken many times about not being able to travel due to my health. If you wish to interrogate me, feel free to reach out to me here, via Zoom, or any other means – I am always available. I wasn’t expecting this inhumane and brazen kidnapping,’ he said. Despite this, Mehul Choksi claimed he was ‘seriously’ considering returning to India to ‘prove his innocence’, but he now has concerns about his safety after the recent developments.
‘Although I have seriously considered returning to India in order to prove my innocence, my medical condition has become much worse in the last over 50 days of my kidnapping. The treatment I received in India was so inhuman that I’m not sure if I will be able to return to a normal state of mind or body,’ he continued.
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Mehul Choksi is a defendant in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case. Using letters of undertaking, he and his nephew Nirav Modi are alleged to have siphoned off Rs 13,500 crore from the state-run Punjab National Bank.
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