Indian-Antiguan citizen currently facing illegal entry charges in Dominica, Mehul Choksi, has provided the names of his alleged kidnappers. Choksi said he was forcefully abducted from Antigua and brought by boat to Dominica by persons he named as Barbara Jabarica, Narender Singh, Arminder Singh and Gurmit Singh. He said Jabarica lured him into the hands of the other three Indian men.
While Antigua’s PM Gaston Browne has claimed that the abduction story is very unlikely and probably untrue, he said the Antiguan police have commenced investigations into the mentioned persons. He said Antigua does not have a culture of kidnapping and that no ransom claims were made for Choksi when he went missing, making his abduction story unbelievable.
According to him, “it would mean that there was a greater need for inter-state border vigilance” if Choksi’s story turned out to be true.
“I got a message saying Mehul Choksi has filed a complaint with the Antiguan and Barbuda Police to the extent that he was abducted,” Browne said. “He made a formal claim in writing to his attorneys that he was abducted from Antigua and taken to Dominica. It is a report that the police have taken very seriously and they are currently investigating the abduction.”
In his June 2 letter to the commissioner of police in Antigua, Choksi said the three Indian men interrogated him after Jabarica handed him over to them. He said they beat him very much when he tried to escape, and that he could not resist because of his failing health and for the fact that he was outnumbered. He said they also took his smartphone, Rolex watch, and wallet which contained $1,500 USD.
Choksi further revealed that his attackers tied him up and inserted a gag into his mouth before placing a hood over his head. He said he was brought to Dominica and told he would be meeting a top Indian politician there. He disclosed that a coast guard boat took delivery of him and a police officer who identified himself as the Chief of Police informed him that he was arrested because of an alert put out by the Interpol.
Although Dominica’s PM Roosevelt Skerrit said the rights of Choksi will be respected in the country as the courts examine his circumstances, opposition leader Lennox Linton and former ASP Nicholas George among other leaders of the opposition condemn the Skerrit-led government for the way Choksi’s matter is being handled. The opposition blame the government for the secrecy surrounding Choksi’s arrival in Dominica and the taciturnity of the DLP administration over his court trial.
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