Choksi will be imprisoned under humane conditions, India assures Belgian authorities
New Delhi: India has assured Belgium that diamantaire Mehul Choksi will not be in solitary confinement but kept under humane conditions in accordance with international standards if the fugitive businessman is extradited.
Choksi (66), who is wanted in India in connection with the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, was arrested in Belgium's Antwerp in April 2025. While Choksi has been fighting extradition proceedings abroad since 2018, his lawyers have argued that the businessman suffers from serious health problems, including cancer, and should not be kept in custody.
The authorities in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are learned to have assured Belgian authorities that Choksi would be lodged in Barrack No. 12 of Arthur Road Jail Complex in Mumbai, adding that the prison is not overcrowded.
They added that the businessman’s cell would be monitored round-the-clock and that they would provide him at least three square metres of personal space, excluding furniture. They also listed out various other amenities that Choksi would be provided in jail, including a bed on medical grounds, access to adequate food, clean drinking water, toilet, washing arrangements and medical facilities.
The businessman would be permitted to exercise for more than an hour and get access to recreation on a daily basis, the authorities have told the Belgian officers.
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Road crash in UP leaves 10 dead
Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
