Mehul Choksi fears for his life if he is forced to return to India

Mehul Choksi

Mehul Choksi is afraid of everybody. The diamond baron, who has been hiding abroad ever since the Rs 13,500 crore PNB scam came to light, said that returning to India could threaten his life. Mob lynchings, criminals in jail, police torture, and even his own employees scare him, said Choksi in an application filed on Monday before the court seeking cancellation of Non-bailable warrant (NBW) in the case filed by enforcement directorate (ED).

Everybody's after him
In the application, a copy of which is with mid-day, Choksi cited various reported cases of mob lynching in India. He said he fears employees whose salaries and dues have not been paid since his accounts got frozen, the families of detained employees who have been arrested without any rhyme or reason, the unpaid landlords whose premises his companies had taken on rent, the customers whose jewellery was taken away from his in showroom by the Enforcement Directorate, and finally, creditors who have not been paid their dues.

Choksi is not sure even the cops will protect him; he wrote that in their zeal to get information on the scam, the ED and CBI have been known to use third-degree torture as well. He cited the mass suicide of top bureaucrat BK Bansal and his family in 2016, whose suicide notes had blamed CBI officials for harassing them during an investigation. Choksi's application also mentions the poor conditions in Indian prisons, and the threat from other inmates, who are hardened criminals being tried or convicted for offences like terrorism, rape and murder. He further stated that he was at high risk of extortion by jail staff as well.

'I didn't run'
Choksi claimed that if he had intended to flee the country, he would not have left property worth over Rs 5,000 crore behind, which was seized by the cops. He said that the Punjab National Bank could have recovered all its dues from these properties itself.

Choksi added that he is a law-abiding citizen, he never shied away from the investigation and duly responded to all communications received from the investigating agencies. His application stated that he flew abroad for a health check-up, as he had some health issue. Subsequently, his passport was revoked. His lawyer Sanjay Abbot confirmed that he had filed an application for cancellation of NBW. The application will come up for hearing on August 18.

Also Read: PNB Scam: Mehul Choksi seeks cancellation of Non-Bailable Warrants

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