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Dominica declares Indian fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi a ‘prohibited immigrant’

The Dominican government has declared Indian economic fugitive Mehul Choksi as a “prohibited immigrant” in their country.

“In line with section 5(1)(f) of the Immigration and Passport Act Chapter 18:01 of the 2017 Revised Statutes of the Commonwealth of Dominica, you, Mehul Chinubhai Choksi, are hereby proclaimed a prohibited immigrant,” the Ministry of National Security and Home Affairs said in a statement on May 25. 

“I further direct that the necessary action is being taken to have the said prohibited immigrant removed from the Commonwealth of Dominica in keeping with the procedure laid out in the said Act,” added the order, signed by Dominican minister Rayburn Blackmoore.

Watch | Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi discloses names of abductors to Antigua police

Choksi’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, had claimed last week that Choksi did not enter Dominica illegally and that the authorities there cannot arrest him since he is not a “prohibited immigrant.” 

Meanwhile, Gurjit Bhandal, one of the persons reportedly named in the “abduction” of Mehul Choksi from Antigua and Barbuda on May 23, has denied any link to the case and claimed that he had left the Caribbean island on May 23 morning on a yacht, according to local media reports.

In his complaint to the Antigua police, Choksi had claimed that he was abducted on May 23 evening when he had gone to a place where his “friend” Barbara Jabarica, also a suspect in the case, was staying. 

He had named Gurmit Singh, Narendar Singh, Jabarica and other unidentified persons for his alleged abduction. 

Choksi has been granted interim relief from urgent repatriation to India by a Dominican court, which has delayed the case.

Choksi went missing from Antigua and Barbuda on May 23, sparking a huge manhunt. On May 26, he was reportedly apprehended in Dominica. 

(With inputs from agencies)

Source: Thanks WIONews.com