Woman who travelled with Mehul Choksi to Dominica not his girlfriend, part of team that 'abducted' him: Sources

​​​​​ST JONES: Mehul Choksi was indeed with a woman when he landed in Dominica but she was not his girlfriend, sources close to the fugitive businessman have said, adding that she was a part of the team involved in his "abduction, torture and arrest".

Choksi had gone missing some days ago from Antigua and Barbuda and was later traced to and arrested in Dominica. He alleged through his lawyers that he was abducted on May 23 and that people with 'links to India' abducted him in collaboration with Antiguan officials. He was then beaten up, tortured and taken to Dominica in a vessel where he was arrested, claim Choksi's lawyers.

The sources further said the woman was staying in Antigua. She started meeting Choksi during morning and evening walks, befriended him and on May 23 called him to an apartment to meet her. When he reached there, a group of people allegedly abducted him and took him to Dominica where he was arrested, the sources claimed.

On Sunday, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne made a sensational claim, saying Choksi travelled with his girlfriend to Dominica but he was caught. The PM has also requested the Dominican authorities to directly deport Choksi back to India.

Photos of Choksi in Dominica, accessed by India Today TV, showed him standing behind a gate with iron grilles, resembling a lock-up. Other photographs show injury marks and bruises on his hand and wrist. His lawyers have also claimed that the businessman was "badly beaten up" and has suffered "bruises".

On Monday, Choksi was admitted to the Dominica China Friendship Hospital in the capital city Roseau. As per his medical report, Choksi has tested negative for Covid-19.

Cases against Mehul Choksi

Mehul Choksi is wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case. He was arrested in Dominica on Wednesday for allegedly entering the country "illegally" from Antigua and Barbuda, where he has been living since January 2018.

He and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted for allegedly siphoning Rs 13,500 crore of public money from the state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) using letters of undertaking.

While Nirav Modi is in a London prison after being repeatedly denied bail and is contesting his extradition to India, Mehul Choksi took citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017 using the Citizenship by Investment programme before fleeing India in the first week of January 2018.

Choksi is facing two cases Antigua and Barbuda. One deals with his extradition to India and the other concerns revocation of his citizenship.