Last Updated on August 8, 2023, 7:27 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Mehul Choksi saga continues to exaggerate like a tv soap opera without a realistic plot. After suspiciously disappearing in 2021, he continues to push for a story whose legitimacy is questioned, even by the local authorities. As per him, he was kidnapped, forcefully taken to another island and beaten. But the actual evidence in custody suggests otherwise.
The major purpose of police officials is to investigate, examine and arrest the suspect. After all the examinations, the individual is presented to the court where Prosecutors come to their role, either asking for an extension of remand or just laying the case to rest.
In such cases, there are certain things that need to be overseen, the Prosecutor may ask for a continuance to further investigate any other aspects. This scenario happens in those cases which has atleast 50 percent chances of conviction according to the investigation and available evidence.
In Antigua and Barbuda a ‘Crown Prosecutor’ (the term is used in the UK and Commonwealth countries to describe the public prosecutor who represents the Crown) would want to move further with a case if there is a probability for more evidence or has confidence in partially available evidence.
However, in Mehul Choksi’s case despite carrying out different investigations and examinations police got no evidence to prove his claims. Regardless of his own words, authorities got nothing that says that Mehul Choksi was ever abducted or forcefully taken from Jolly Harbour on Sunday, May 23, 2021. Surprisingly, the facts and evidence in the public domain suggest otherwise, showing that he “absconded” rather than being “abducted”.
Police currently have a piece of paper that says he was kidnapped, which is the “statement” given by Mehul Choksi himself only and there is till date no evidence to prove rather than accusing variety of persons who were not even spotted in the near vicinity.
There are some hotel bookings of some tourists, which again cannot be considered a piece of solid evidence to build a case. With the limited claims to prove the abduction, the Crown Prosecutor faces a challenge, to move further with the case, knowing that the Judge will throw the case out for “lack of evidence”.
Many critics believe that all this drama is part of a plot to “delay extradition”. It is suspected that Mehul Choksi is trying to build grounds on the point that he was forcefully abducted so that the case continues long in order to delay the process of his extradition to India where he is wanted in a massive fraud, totalling USD 2 billion. Critics also say that there are currently no grounds to prove the abduction, but if the case is stretched it may go on for years, buying Choksi enough time to escape the extradition to face justice back in India.
Mehul Choksi had approached the court to withdraw his extradition case and he should not be extradited to India, reported India based WION. It also reported that Choksi cited a slew of reasons for the retraction request, which have yet to be disclosed in detail.
In Antigua and Barbuda, two significant cases are being battled by Choksi, one concerning his citizenship and the other involving India’s plea for his extradition for a criminal trial. Additionally, he presented an affidavit to the High Court, claiming a startling episode from May 2021. According to information, it is clearly visible that Choksi is using this episode to escape a fraud of a lifetime. He is using the matter of human rights, life threat if he returns to India, biased trial in India and many others.
Choksi recently submitted an affidavit citing an outcry for human rights violations, without looking back at thousands of people who lost their jobs, homes and businesses just because he absconded from India in 2017. Thousands of people struggled, while some also committed suicide as the “Geetanjali Jewellers” suddenly closed down one day because the owner “Mehul Choksi” ran away from the country looting all the money.
A documentary on Netflix about the “Bad Boy Billionaires: India” also showed the stories of people who lost their everything because of Mehul Choksi, and waited for months to get their salaries, which still remain “unpaid”. He himself violated the human rights of his workers and lacked the basic decency of paying back poor people who relied on his business to support their families.
Critics also say that there are no grounds for a Crown Prosecutor to move forward with a case where there is no evidence. But, it is argued that it can only happen if the “Crown Prosecutor” has accepted any bribes from Mehul Choksi because he is pushing on to exaggerate it and is ready to pay any price to delay his extradition. It is already in the public domain that Mehul Choksi never hesitates to bribe, and is using the money earned from massive frauds to pay people to do wrong things.
A report by Live Mint explains that Mehul Choksi’s abduction case investigating officer Adonis Henry also took bribes from Choksi to align police report with his statements related to abduction story. Choksi not only reached to Inspector Henry but also made attempts to bribe judicial system of Antigua and Barbuda raising eyebrows that he would make another attempt to influence Crown Prosecutor to further pursue the case.
Even Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne had stated in national parliament that there is no convincing evidence that Mehul Choksi was forcibly taken from Antigua to Dominica.
It is noteworthy that in Antigua and Barbuda, the legal framework is deeply rooted in British jurisprudence, a legacy of its colonial past. According to these foundational principles, an accused person’s statement, on its own, is not deemed as conclusive evidence to progress a legal case. This means that any claims or statements made by an accused party must be corroborated with additional evidence to be considered substantial in a court of law. This foundational tenet is now under the spotlight, given recent developments surrounding high-profile cases in the nation.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
