Narrative being created that Mehul Choksi fled Antigua, says wife Priti Choksi

Photo of Mehul Choksi released by a local media outlet showing him behind bars (Image: Antigua News Room)

Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi's wife has said that a 'narrative is being woven' that he fled Antigua. Choksi, who mysteriously went missing on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda, was detained in neighbouring Dominica for illegal entry after a possible romantic escapade with his rumoured girlfriend.

His lawyers have, however, alleged that he was kidnapped from Jolly Harbour in Antigua and brought to Dominica on a boat, about 100 nautical miles away. Choksi was on June 3 denied bail by Dominica magistrate.

Speaking to Business Standard, his wife, Priti Choksi, said that the "safest place for her husband is Antigua".

Priti Choksi said that she last saw him at 5.15 pm on May 23 when he left for dinner. She said she was worried after Choksi did not return till 9 pm that day.

"The police were initially like, ‘you should wait for 24 hours. But we said there was no way he wouldn’t be home. They did take it seriously, thank God, and filed a complaint," she told the publication.

She also cast doubts on claims that the fugitive fled Antigua. "I am very disturbed that he (Mehul Choksi) was taken around 5.30 pm on a boat and no one seems to have seen it. None of the video surveillance cameras at Jolly Harbour are working," she said.

Asked if she personally knew Barbara Jabarika, Priti Choksi refused and said, "I knew she had come (to Antigua) in August (2020) and she had walked into our other house on the island and she befriended the chef there."

She further said that Mehul Choksi used to go on walks with her. "On the Friday and Saturday, before he was taken, they went to Jolly Beach South for a walk. On Sunday, Jabarika insisted that they go to the north side of the island."

He said he didn’t feel like walking, because he was feeling a little tired, Priti Chosi told the newspaper, adding that the place suggested by Jabarika was "very secluded".

She also refuted claims that Jabarika was the “sexy femme fatale” being shown in media. "She looks different. That’s not what she looks like,” she said.

Priti Choksi also alleged that her husband wasn’t allowed to meet a lawyer or get medical attention and he “was terrified of being killed”.

"The narrative being woven is that he absconded, and the first story, the Cuba story, pointed people in that direction. It was very ham-handed. My husband is no longer an Indian citizen as per Section 9 of the Indian constitution. In 2017, he ceased to be an Indian citizen. The safest place on earth for him is Antigua," she told the publication.