No RCN required to detain Choksi: CBI
New Delhi, Aug 27: India can seek the extradition of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi even without issuance of a Red Corner Notice (RCN) from the Interpol as his location has been revealed, the CBI has informed the Ministry of External Affairs, sources said on Monday.
A Central Bureau of Investigation source told IANS: "The CBI has informed the MEA, which is communicating with the Antiguan government that it can seek the extradition of Choksi even without the issuance of an RCN against him from the Interpol."
The source said since the location and nationality of Choksi is already known, he should be arrested or detained there.
According to the source, the Indian government in its request also informed the Antiguan government that if Choksi moves out to any of the countries, then the host countries would also seek clarification from Antigua as he is travelling on their passport.
Earlier this month, the CBI, which is probing the Rs 13,500-crore banking fraud allegedly committed by the diamond jeweller and his nephew Nirav Modi, has communicated to the MEA that it has already written to its counterpart agency in Antigua for the provisional arrest of Choksi.
In its request to the Home Ministry, the CBI said Choksi's extradition was being sought "on grounds of principle of reciprocity and dual criminality".
India and Antigua are signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), a multilateral treaty negotiated by the member-states of the United Nations and promoted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the CBI pointed out in its request.
The source also revealed that the Gitanjali group owner has also appealed to the Interpol to not issue an RCN against him alleging that the charges against him are politically motivated and the condition of the Indian jails are very poor.
The Interpol, after receiving Choksi's plea, sought the CBI's reply. The CBI in its reply has denied all allegations levelled by Choksi.
Choksi is said to have fled India on an Indian passport in the first week of January 2018. The Antiguan government is believed to have cleared his application for citizenship in November 2017, for which he may have paid around Rs 1.3 crore.
Choksi had taken the oath of allegiance as a citizen of Antigua on January 15 this year. Days later, on January 29, the CBI filed a case and started investigating Choksi and Nirav Modi.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
