The Indian government is preparing to send a multi-agency team to Belgium to extradite Mehul Choksi, who has been on the run since 2018. Belgian police arrested the fugitive businessman over the weekend on India’s extradition request.
Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said his bail plea, to be heard next week in a local court, will be on the ground that he is undergoing treatment for cancer. Given the inhumane conditions in prisons in India, they will challenge the Indian authorities attempt to extradite Choksi.
Aggarwal told CNN-News18 about the London High Court’s order in India’s extradition appeal against the discharge of Sanjay Bhandari, who was a consultant in the defense sector and is wanted in India on money laundering charges. He said they will file an appeal, and request that court that Choksi, 62, should not be detained. The legal team is hopeful that their client will be permitted to challenge the extradition by being out of prison.
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Mehul Choksi Will Be in Danger In Indian Prisons
Aggarwal shared that they can challenge the Indian authorities on two grounds, firstly that this is a political case and secondly, the human rights of their client will be affected. He said they would make a strong case based on the Bhandari judgment for Mehul Choksi.
It should be noted that the London court had observed that Bhandari would be at risk of extortion and violence from other prisoners and prison officials at Tihar jail. Choksi, the owner of Gitanjali Group, is wanted in India for the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud. His nephew Nirav Modi is also wanted in the case which rocked India in 2018.
