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Dominica Court adjourns Mehul Choksi’s illegal entry into Caribbean island nation case till June 25

On Monday, the Magistrate Court was to start hearing the case of Choksi's "illegal entry" into the country on May 23 but he was a "no show", a media website Natureislenews reported.

Dominica Court adjourns Mehul Choksi's illegal entry into Caribbean island nation till June 25-dnm
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Antigua, First Published Jun 15, 2021, 9:51 AM IST

The case in Dominica involving fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi has taken yet another turn. Booked on charges of illegally entering the Caribbean nation, Choksi's case was heard by Chief Magistrate Candia Carette-George at the Magistrate's Court in Roseau.

The Court has adjourned till June 25 the hearing into alleged illegal entry of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi into the Caribbean island nation, local media reported.

On Monday, the Magistrate Court was to start hearing the case of Choksi's "illegal entry" into the country on May 23 but he was a "no show", a media website Natureislenews reported.

His legal team submitted a medical certificate from the doctors of Dominica China Friendship Hospital, where Choksi is being held, of "mental stress" and elevated blood pressure.

Chief Magistrate Carette-George later adjourned the matter. It will now be heard at 9 am (Caribbean time) on June 25. The judge has also ordered for Choksi to be brought to court on June 17 for further remand.

Mehul Choksi will remain under police guard as a patient at the Dominica China Friendship Hospital until the next date of the trial.

One of the key accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, Mehul Choksi fled to the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda in 2018. He was arrested in May of this year for illegally entering neighbouring Dominica.

Choksi's lawyer in London, Michael Polak, issued a statement on Monday claiming new evidence has emerged which shows that Barbara Jabarica, the woman with whom the diamantaire was last seen, sought booking of an accommodation with a jetty.

He alleged Barbara Jabarica, who is suspected to be part of Choksi's "kidnapping" from Antigua, had enquired about a neighbouring property too, which was booked by a UK-based company.

Polak issued two videos showing a small boat which, he alleged, was used to transport a gagged and beaten Choksi to open seas where he was transferred to a bigger boat to be taken to Dominica.

Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi had fled India in January 2018 weeks before the PNB scam case rocked the Indian banking industry.

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