Chidambaram questions Centre, Gujarat on Choksi's escape
New Delhi, Aug 4: Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Saturday wondered how diamond merchant Mehul Choksi fled the country even though he was under police investigation since 2016, and posed questions to the Centre and Gujarat government.
In a series of tweets, the former Union Minister also said that an affidavit was filed before the Gujarat High Court mentioning that Choksi may flee the country.
"On July 20, 2016, an affidavit was filed before the Gujarat High Court alleging Mehul Choksi was in debt of Rs 9,872 crore and he may flee the country. How did the Gujarat government (BJP) allow him to leave the country in January 2018?" Chidambaram said.
"How did the central government and the Gujarat government allow Mehul Choksi to leave the country in 2018 when he was under police investigation since 2016?"
On Friday, the extradition request for Choksi, who has secured an Antiguan passport and is living there, will soon be sent to the Caribbean country, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The CBI, which is probing the Rs 13,500-crore banking fraud allegedly committed by the jeweller and his nephew Nirav Modi, said its letter to get Choksi deported has been forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Confirming the move, an MEA official said the Ministry has received the extradition request from the CBI and is currently in the process of conveying it to the authorities in Antigua and Barbuda.
Choksi is said to have fled India on an Indian passport in the first week of January 2018.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
345 Indian fishermen stranded in Iran return home via Armenia
New Delhi (PTI): A group of 345 Indian fishermen, who were stranded in Iran amid escalating regional tensions, returned to India via Armenia on Saturday, officials said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for assistance in return of the Indian nationals.
The Indian nationals arrived in Chennai this evening, the officials cited above said.
The circumstances that led to them being stranded in Iran were not immediately known.
"Thank FM @AraratMirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India," Jaishankar said on social media.
Over 1,500 Indian nationals have left Iran through land border crossings in Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict over a month ago.
"A group of Indian fishermen, stranded in Iran, are returning home via Armenia today; their flight is expected to reach India this evening," a government statement said.
It said the Ministry of External Affairs continues to closely monitor the evolving situation in the West Asian region, with the safety, security and welfare of the Indian community being accorded the highest priority.
It also made a mention of five Indians being injured in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
According to Abu Dhabi authorities, the Indian nationals were among the 12 people injured by debris from an intercepted missile.
"In an attack in Abu Dhabi, five Indian nationals were injured; four have been discharged, one remains under treatment," the Indian government's statement said.
It said the Indian mission in Abu Dhabi is extending "full" assistance and coordinating with local authorities, adding that their flight is expected to reach India this evening.
