Mumbai: Mehul Choksi, the fugitive diamantaire and an accused in the Punjab National Bank fraud, on Friday once again filed an application before the CBI court seeking cancellation of the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him.
Mr. Choksi’s lawyer Sanjay Abott pointed out that during a debate on a television news channel on July 27, Harish, a caller (guest) from Goa, suggested that a special team consisting of secret agents be formed to track down Mr. Choksi.
The application said, “The caller declared Mr. Choksi guilty, suggested to shoot him, and said the killing of one person will set an example. The TV anchor did not object to what the guest said and laughingly said ‘ok’.” Mr. Abbot said, “This makes it clear that Mr. Choksi has a serious threat to life on his return.”
The court directed the CBI to file a reply and adjourned the matter to October 3.
On July 23, another application was filed seeking cancellation of the NBW because Mr. Choksi feared to be lynched by a mob.
The application read, “There are reported cases of mob lynching in India. There are people who have grievances and anger against him, like existing employees whose salaries have not been paid because of freezing of the accounts, the families of the employees who have been arrested without any reason, the landlords whose premises the companies had taken on rent and who have not been paid, the customers whose jewellery in showrooms have been taken away by the Enforcement Directorate, and the creditors of supplies and services, who have not been paid their dues.”
