Vijay Mallya not eager to board return flight to India

Beleaguered Vijay Mallya does not appear to be in a hurry to return to India even as there is more trouble brewing for him back home. A Hyderabad court has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against him for failing to appear before it in a case of bounced cheque and the labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said on Sunday that the government would also look into Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) provident fund records.

Asked when he planned to return, Mallya told the Sunday Guardian newspaper, "I am an Indian to the core. Of course, I want to return. But I'm not sure (that) I'll get a fair chance to present my side. I've already been branded as criminal. I do not feel the time is right.

I feel passions are high … But I hope that I return one day. India has given me everything. It made me Vijay Mallya." Mallya refused to disclose where he is staying in England. "I do not think it is wise for me to reveal my whereabouts. I'm no hardened criminal who the authorities need to hunt. For now, I want to feel safe," he told the UK newspaper.

Separately, Mallya tweeted that he is being hunted down by the media in the UK. Mallya attended the Rajya Sabha on March 1 and then suddenly left for the UK the next day while banks were preparing to seek a court ban on his foreign travel and impounding of his passport for his alleged default on loans to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore. This has kicked up a major political storm with allegations that he might have been tipped off.

However, Mallya told the Sunday Guardian, "It's not the first time I've flown out from the country.

I've not done anything wrong. I don't need anyone to tip me off about anything... It's a big agenda that some people are pushing against me. I am being victimised. I've always taken things on my chin. I've lived grand and helped people do the same. I've never hidden any aspect about my life. I'm one of the most open people. I'm forced to go into hiding and that makes me sick."

According to PTI, the court issued the NBW in the case of alleged dishonour of a Rs 50 lakh cheque to GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited.

(In association with Mail Today Bureau)