PNB Fraud: Danger to my life in India, says Mehul Choksi

Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi said on Friday that his return to India will endanger his life. Choksi issued a statement through his counsel before CBI special court in Mumbai while pleading for cancellation of a non-bailable warrant against him.

The court on May 22 this year, after taking cognisance of the second charge sheet filed in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, issued the non-bailable warrant against Choksi.

In an application through his lawyer Sanjay Abbott, Choski said that his apprehensions on safety are based upon what transpired during a recent television debate on the fraud. He told the court that he was “shocked” to watch a debate on a national television news channel where two callers phoned in to share their opinion on the fraud.

The callers, Choksi claimed in the plea, “suggested that a special team be formed to track Choksi down and shoot him to death once he was brought back to India”. He further claimed that the callers said that such treatment would send out a strong message to society and prevent further cases of frauds and fiscal scams.

The fugitive jeweller also claimed that the news anchor concerned and the panelists did not object to the comments made by the caller. Instead, the anchor even laughed at the comments and the same makes it apparent that the anchor and the panelists too “tacitly” agreed with what the callers suggested, Choksi said in the plea.

This is the second such application filed by Choksi before the special court, claiming a threat to his life and seeking that the NBW be cancelled.