Mehul Choksi names ‘Indian officers, mystery woman’ in complaint

New Delhi, June 7

Fugitive businessman diamantaire Mehul Choksi, who is currently in Dominica, has named mysterious woman Barbara Jabarica, and Indian officers Gurmit Singh and Narindra Singh in his complaint filed with the Antigua and Barbuda Police. On June 4, the name of Gurmit Singh, a resident of India, was mentioned on the passenger list of the two vessels — Lady Anne and Calliope of Arne.

Probe into Choksi’s ‘abduction’ begins

• The Antigua and Barbuda Police have commenced an investigation into the ‘possible abduction’ of Mehul Choksi from Antigua on May 23, 2021.
• According to media reports, PM Gaston Browne said Choksi’s lawyers wrote to the police commissioner providing the names of the people he believed abducted him.

‘Was trapped’

The manner in which Jabarica conducted herself, including by not helping me get free from the said persons, and her subsequent lack of initiative in contacting the police points to the fact that she was an integral part of this entire scheme

The passenger list of Callioppe of Arne mentions the names of Gurjit Bhandal, a resident of Birmingham in the UK, and Gurmit Singh, a resident of India, according to the records of the Cobra tours.

In his complaint, Choksi, who is facing charges of entering Dominica illegally, has stated that he had been residing in Antigua and Barbuda for the last three years, and there he came in contact with Jabarica, who used to stay in his neighbourhood. He also stated that he had gone to meet Jabarica on May 23 at around 5 pm when he was abducted by 8 to 10 persons, claiming to be Antigua police officers. In his complaint to the police, Choksi alleged that the people who abducted him said they would be taking him to the St John’s police station. When he resisted and requested to contact his lawyers, “I was physically restrained and hit from all sides”, the fugitive businessman said in the complaint. “I attempted to get away, but I was quickly overpowered, owing to being so heavily outnumbered due to my poor state of health. My attackers continued to beat me mercilessly with bare hands and also used a taser (gun) on my face, hands and exposed skin, causing burns, bruises and immense pain. They further told me that if I continued to resist, they would file a complaint against me for obstruction of justice,” Choksi said.

Choksi further said that the attackers put him on a wheelchair, as he was in almost comatose state. “I was unable to resist when they tied my hands, legs and body to the wheel chair. A gag was placed in my mouth obstructing my airways, causing me to gasp for air,” he said. Choksi said that in the same state he was taken to the backside of Jabarica’s house and was placed on what seemed like a very small watercraft. “Later, I was handed over to an officer and his team to take me to the central police station,” he said. — TNS/Agencies