Congress alleges government's complicity in Choksi's Antiguan citizenship
New Delhi, July 28 : With Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne on Friday saying that India has not approached his country on fugitive diamond jeweller Mehul Choksi who has secured citizenship of the Caribbean country, Congress alleged complicity on part of Modi government and the investigative agencies.
"The tragic part is that Modi government has been lax bordering complicity in ensuring that thousands of crores of money duped by the Indian fugitive are brought back within the ambit of law," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
"We ask Prime Minister Modi and BJP's departmental organisations like CBI and ED as to how Mehul Choksi was permitted to travel to Hong Kong, UAE, Belgium, the UK, the USA and Antigua," he asked.
Surjewala said despite that no red corner notice was issued by the Interpol.
"Was it on account of some complicity on part of CBI and ED so that he is permitted to take care of his business all over the world?" he asked.
"PM Modi who had a close bonhomie with the prime minister of Antigua, needs to answer as to why doesn't he pick up the phone and urge him to detain and arrest Mehul Choksi.
"...hand him over to us through the normal process of deportation of criminals that is followed in international diplomacy."
"The very fact that the Prime Minister is not doing so raises a doubt about the seriousness and bona fides of Modi government," said Surjewala.
Choksi, wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case along with nephew Nirav Modi, had taken Antiguan citizenship last year.
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5 schoolchildren among 7 killed in blast in southwest Pakistan
Islamabad (PTI): At least seven people, including five schoolchildren and a policeman, were killed on Friday in a remote-controlled blast in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, according to media reports.
The blast occurred at 8.35 am near a school at the Civil Hospital Chowk of the Mastung district of the province, Dawn newspaper reported.
“It appears that an IED (improvised explosive device) attached to a motorcycle was detonated near a police mobile,” Kalat Division Commissioner Naeem Bazai was quoted as saying in the report.
“So far, seven individuals have been killed, including five school students,” Bazai said. At least 22 people were injured in the attack.
Most of those injured were schoolchildren, Geo News reported, adding that they were shifted to a nearby hospital.
A police van and several auto-rickshaws were damaged in the explosion, according to the report.
An emergency was declared across all Quetta hospitals after the blast, the report said quoting the provincial health department spokesperson, adding that all doctors, pharmacists, staff nurses and other medical staff were summoned.
