Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the multi-crore PNB scam moved a special court on Monday seeking cancellation of the non-bailable warrants issued against him, claiming that he apprehends mob lynching if he returns to India.
The petition comes in the wake of multiple non-bailable warrants issued against the promoter of Gitanjali Gems under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in March and July this year after the courts took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case.
In his application that Choksi moved before the special PMLA court, he claimed there was a threat to his life not only from his former employees and debtors but also from jail staff and inmates (where he would be launched if he returns). "As it became impossible for the applicant's company to function and the employees were not paid their salaries and debtors did not get their money back, all these persons have become agitated against the applicant and he is now facing threat to his life," the application said.
The petition also claimed that Choksi has responded to all the communication he received from the investigating agencies.
Special PMLA Judge M S Azmi hearing the petition directed the Enforcement Directorate to file its reply and kept the matter for further hearing on August 18. Choksi had moved a similar application before a special CBI court seeking cancellation of the warrant issued by that court.
Choksi has been implicated as a key player in the `13,400 crore scam at Punjab National Bank where it is alleged that diamond merchant and jeweller Nirav Modi and Choksi allegedly cheated the state-run lender with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.
