PNB fraud: Mehul Choksi seeks cancellation of NBW over threat to life on TV
Mumbai, Sep 21 : Gitanjali Group owner Mehul Choksi, wanted in Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, on Friday moved a special CBI court claiming danger to his life after his return to India and sought cancellation of a non-bailable warrant issued against him.
In an application filed through his lawyer Sanjay Abbott, Choksi said his "apprehensions over his safety are based upon what transpired during a recent television debate on the fraud".
In his application, Choksi informed the court that he was shocked to watch a TV debate on July 27, 2018 in which two callers on live television suggested that a special team consisting of special agents should be formed and suggested that the team should track the whereabouts of the present applicant and he (Choksi) should be "shot down".
Choksi further said that the anchor also did not criticise the comment made by the caller and tactily agreed to it without any retaliation or without condemning the comment, "he laughingly said ok".
Choksi said the caller also declared that the applicant (Choksi) is guilty and said that "killing of one person will set an example".
"The above facts make it clear that the present applicant (Choksi) has serious threat to life on his return as if a person is having the audacity to suggest to shoot the applicant on national television, then one can easily imaging the threat that the applicant (Choksi) is facing if he returns to India," it said.
Choksi, who had acquired Antiguan citizenship ealier this year, through his lawyer also sent some audio and video CDs claiming that they contained the cited footage from the news channel debate.
He has urged the court to make his submission a part of the court records and, in light of the same, to cancel the non bailable warrant issued against him.
On May 22 this year, the court had issued the NBW against Choksi after taking cognisance of the second charge sheet filed in the PNB fraud case by the CBI.
Choksi's lawyer speaking to IANS said, "The court has directed the CBI to file reply on the submissions made by Choksi by October 3 which is the next date of hearing."
Earlier in June this year, Choksi had filed a plea claiming that he had been advised bed rest on account of his ill health following a "heart operation".
In his plea Choksi also said that he feared that once in India, the probe agencies would not help him secure the kind of medical treatment and supervision he required.
He had also raised the issue of "trend of mob lynching" in the country, and he feared that he might become a victim of such lynching.
Choksi and Nirav Modi are under probe by both the CBI and ED. The ED had on May 24 and 26 filed the chargesheets against both. The court took cognisance and issued non-bailable warrants against them.
Nirav Modi left India along with his family in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI. His wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and Choksi on January 4.
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Jamshedpur man among crew of LPG vessel back from West Asia, family heaves sigh of relief
Jamshedpur (PTI): A family in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur heaved a sigh of relief after learning that the Indian-flagged LPG vessel Shivalik, on which their son was working, had safely reached Gujarat's Mundra port after crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in West Asia.
Mithilesh Tripathy said his only son, Ansh Tripathy, who serves as the second engineer on the vessel, was responsible for monitoring the ship's technical operations during the journey through the strategically crucial maritime corridor.
Tripathy said he last spoke to his son over a WhatsApp call about four to five days ago, when the vessel was leaving Qatar.
"They were instructed to maintain a safe distance from the Strait of Hormuz until they received the green signal from headquarters. The Indian government was negotiating with Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage," Tripathy told PTI.
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A former flight engineer with the Indian Air Force, Tripathy later worked at Uranium Corporation of India in Jadugora near Jamshedpur. He now lives in a residential society near Pardih in the city.
Speaking about his son, Tripathy said Ansh completed his schooling in Jamshedpur and Jadugora, pursued mechanical engineering at BIT, and later graduated as a marine engineer from Kochi. He joined the Shipping Corporation of India around 2014-15.
"Before leaving Qatar, Ansh told me they were heading towards the Indian Ocean. That was all he said," he added, noting that he did not discuss the number of crew members on board.
Tripathy said the family remained anxious after hearing about the war in West Asia.
"We were extremely worried about Ansh and the crew members since the war broke out in the region. We were glued to the TV for updates," he said, expressing relief after hearing that the ship had reached Mundra port safely.
"It was a very painful time, but we were confident that if my son and the crew returned safely, it would be due to the efforts of PM Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar," he said.
Tripathy said that while people may hold different views about the tensions in West Asia, his experience in the Air Force helped him understand the realities of operating in a conflict zone.
Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, with 92,712 metric tonnes of LPG, crossed the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday following negotiations between India and Iran.
Shivalik arrived at the Mundra Port on Monday with 46,000 metric tonnes of LPG ordered by Indian Oil Corp Ltd, officials said.
While 20,000 MT will be unloaded at Mundra, 26,000 MT will be unloaded at Mangaluru, they said.
Nanda Devi is scheduled to reach Gujarat's Kandla port on Tuesday, they added.
These two ships were among the 24 ships stranded on the west side of the strait since the war broke out in the region.
Besides the 24 on the west side of the strait, four others were stranded on the east side.
India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of its natural gas and 60 per cent of its LPG needs. Before the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's retaliation, more than half of India's crude imports, about 30 per cent of gas and 85-90 per cent of LPG imports came from West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies.
