Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, in Antigua, surrenders Indian passport
NEW DELHI: Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi has given up his Indian citizenship and surrendered his passport to Antigua. The move is seen as an attempt to avoid extradition to India, where he is wanted by multiple agencies for loan fraud.
Mehul Choksi, 59, also submitted 177 dollars with his passport (Z-3396732 ) to the Indian High Commission in Antigua. Officials say he has given his new address as Jolly Harbour Marks, Antigua.
The foreign ministry had said that Mehul Choksi could not have dual citizenship. Antigua is hearing India's case for the businessman's extradition.
India and Antigua do not have a bilateral extradition pact but the government has been trying to bring back the diamond billionaire from Antigua under a law of the island nation that allows it to send back a fugitive to a designated Commonwealth country.
Mehul Choksi was granted citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2018 and he took the oath of allegiance to that country on January 15 last year. Nearly two weeks later, on January 29, the CBI filed a case and started investigating him and his nephew Nirav Modi.
Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi are accused of a Rs. 13,000 crore fraud involving fake guarantees in the name of state-run Punjab National Bank to secure loans abroad. They both skipped the country a year ago. Choksi left the country for medical treatment in the US.
In December, global body Interpol put out a red corner notice against Choksi on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI's) request.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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