Fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi has alleged his arrest in Dominica was "dictated" by Indian government representatives, which is why he has filed a case in the Dominican High Court to quash proceedings against him.
The absconding diamantaire claimed the Dominican police had "allowed themselves to be dictated by third parties, [and] representatives of the Indian government".
Also read: Mehul Choksi a 'prohibited immigrant': Dominica
Choksi said he is a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda, where he has challenged a move to extradite him. He claimed he was kidnapped from Antigua and Barbuda and forcibly brought to Dominica by Indian men. However, the Dominican police are yet to launch an investigation of his claims.
Choksi was arrested on May 23 in Dominica for illegal entry, after going missing from Antigua and Barbuda where he had been living since 2018. Following his arrest, he was declared as a prohibited immigrant by the Ministry of Immigration in Dominica.
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Choksi pleaded before the Dominican High Court that the decision to charge him for illegal entry was violative of the law and accordingly, null and void, as reported by the Caribbean media outlet Nature Isle News.
The 62-year-old fugitive jeweler and diamantaire is wanted in connection with a Rs 13,700-crore scam in the Punjab National Bank, and is alleging that the decision of Lincoln Corbette, Acting Chief of Police in Roseau, and investigating officer Sergeant Alleyne to charge him for illegal entry was "not a product of their independent judgement".
Choksi said his arrest and prosecution was an abuse of the process of court because the police who charged him had participated and/or colluded with Choksi's kidnappers and had condoned his forced entry into Dominica. He has sought a court order that states his declaration as an illegal immigrant by the Minister of Immigration and National Security was a breach of the principles of natural justice and is therefore, null and void.
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