New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) Indian fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, who is wanted in Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case has returned to Antigua and Barbuda from Dominica, two days after being granted bail on medical grounds.

Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal told IANS: "My client Choksi has returned to his home in Antigua safely. He faced no issues while entering back in Antigua."

Aggarwal said that Choksi is receiving medical treatment and his family is feeling relieved however torture during kidnapping has him caused lot of psychological and physical harm.

"All well that ends well. After tasting success in Dominica now the legal team is gearing up for long drawn fight in Antigua," Aggarwal added.

Choksi was granted bail on medical grounds on Monday by Dominica High Court.

The court has asked Choksi to deposit Eastern Caribbean dollars 10,000 (around Rs 2.75 lakh) as surety for the bail.

His legal team approached the Dominica high court last week seeking relief on the ground that his health was deteriorating and he needed urgent medical attention.

The latest court order comes as a setback for Indian agencies that had moved the court in Dominica to get Choksi repatriated to India.

Choksi's lawyer Vijay Aggarwal, told IANS, "Yes, Choksi has been granted bail on medical grounds."

He said, "Dominica courts finally upheld the rule of law and rights of a human to be treated in the medical facilities of his choice. And all attempts by various agencies did not bear fruits. There is solace in saying that all clever foxes end up as fur coats."

His legal team approached the Dominica high court last week seeking relief on the ground that his health was deteriorating and he needed urgent medical attention.

Justice Abroad's Director and London-based international barrister Michael Polak is acting for Choksi as part of his legal team said, "The High Court of Dominica granted Choksi bail so that he can return to Antigua for medical treatment and adjourned his judicial review application and the criminal proceedings against him for unlawful entry."

He said that Choksi is suffering from a number of ailments including cerebrovascular disease, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and blood dyscrasias. He is also suffering from a subdural haematoma, the collection of blood between the skull and the surface of the brain.

"Dominican doctors expressed concern that Choksi's current health problems are serious and reported that he is in need of the urgent medical assistance of a Neurologist and Neurosurgical Consultant and that this care is not available in Dominica," Polak said.

Polak said, "We are very pleased that the Dominican Court has made the principled and humanitarian decision to release Mr Choksi so that he can access specialist medical care in Antigua."

He stated that Choksi has been through a very difficult few weeks and has been subject to an ordeal that has had a detrimental effect on him physically. "It is the right outcome that he be able to return to Antigua, where he can access the medical attention that he requires and be with his family," he added.

Choksi's bail plea was supposed to be heard on July 23 but was heard on July 12 on medical grounds. His lawyers had moved the court pleading that he was suffering from a neurological disorder for which he needed treatment in Antigua.

The bail order comes amid allegations from Choksi's family and lawyers that the jeweller was abducted from Jolly Harbour area of Antigua by agents of Indian agencies and forcibly taken to Dominica on May 23. Choksi is facing a case of extradition in Antigua on India's request.

Choksi had gone missing on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda, sparking a massive manhunt. He was later captured in Dominica where he faced charges of entering the country illegally.

Choksi had filed a case in the high court of Dominica, seeking to quash the proceedings against him alleging that his arrest was "dictated" by representatives of the Indian government. The case was filed against the Immigration Minister of the Caribbean nation, its police chief and the investigating officer of the case.

Choksi pleaded that the decision to charge him for illegal entry violated the law and, accordingly, was null and void. Choksi's lawyer had alleged that their client was kidnapped and forcibly taken to Dominica. Choksi is wanted in India by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.

Hyderabad, July 9 (IANS) The Income Tax Department's searches at properties owned by Andhra Pradesh MP Alla Ayodhya Ramireddy's family-owned Ramky Group in Hyderabad three days ago have revealed a Rs 1,200 crore artificial loss.

The raids conducted on July 6 also led to the detection of unaccounted income of Rs 300 crore, the Income Tax Department said on Friday.

Ayodhya Ramireddy is a member of the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh's ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and is considered close to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The income tax sleuths had conducted searches at various properties owned by the MP and his family-owned Ramky Group after they had shown huge losses.

The searches revealed that they had incorrectly claimed bad debts to the tune of Rs 288 crore on account of related party transactions, which was set off against the profits earned.

The department said the entities and their associates have admitted to having an unaccounted income of Rs 300 crore and have also agreed to pay the tax on it.

The search operation led to the detection of artificial loss of approximately Rs 1,200 crore, which is said to be taxed in the hands of the respective assesses, the department said.

"Further, during the course of the search, it was found that the assessees had incorrectly claimed bad debts to the tune of Rs 288 crore on account of related party transactions, which was set off against the aforementioned profits earned. During search proceedings, incriminating documents relating to this artificial/incorrect claim were found. Unaccounted cash transactions with the associated of the group have also been detected during the search and the quantum and modus of the same is under examination," it said.

"As a result of the search & seizure operation, and on the basis of various incriminating documents found, the entities and associated have admitted to having an unaccounted income of Rs 300 crore and have also agreed to pay due to taxes," it added.

The officials seized many incriminating documents, including several loose sheets indicating the involvement of the group in unaccounted transactions.

It was also found that the group had sold its majority stake to a non-resident entity based in Singapore during 2018-19 and had earned huge capital gains.

The group subsequently devised various schemes by entering into a series of share purchase, sale, non-arm's length valued subscription and subsequent bonus issuance etc with related parties, creating a loss which was set off against the capital gains earned. Incriminating evidence/documents have been recovered, which indicates that the loss was artificially created to set off the respective capital gains.

The department said further investigations were in progress.

Ramky Group is engaged in real estate, construction, waste management, and infrastructure. The activities of waste management are spread across India while real estate activities are mainly concentrated in Hyderabad.

The group had earlier figured in the investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into disproportionate assets case against Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The Enforcement Directorate had, in 2013, seized its assets based on the charge sheet filed by the CBI. The Ramky Group was accused of investing in Jagan Mohan Reddy-owned Jagati Publications in the form of buying shares at 35 times premium on an alleged quid-pro-quo basis.

According to the charge sheet, Jagan Mohan Reddy had prevailed upon his father and then undivided Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to reduce the green belt area of Ramky Pharmacity at Parwada in Visakhapatnam in violation of layout norms.

Mumbai July 5 (IANS) While moving the Supreme Court for protection against coercive action by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the embattled ex-Home Minister of Maharashtra Anil Deshmukh skipped an ED summons for the third time in a week, this time, accusing the central agency that its probe against him was 'not transparent', here on Monday.

In a letter ot ED Mumbai Assistant Director Tassine Sultan, Deshmukh said that he had devoted his entire life to public service and would not hesitate to render any assistance that may be required in the conduct of the ongoing investigations.

"However, a series of events have given rise to a bonafide apprehension in my mind that neither the procedure of law is being followed nor any objective, impartial or transparent investigations are being carried out," the 72-year-old senior Nationalist Congress Party leader said in his 8-pager missive.

Deshmukh said that he has moved a petition in the Supreme Court which would be listed in a few days and the ED to wait until its outcome in the apex court.

"I am sanguine that your good self will in fact dispel the impression of any bias or prejudice that has accumulated in my mind by carrying out investigations in a more transparent and objective manner. I am only taking recourse to my legal remedies in view of the peculiarities of the circumstances," he said.

This is the third time in barely a week that Deshmukh -- who was raided by the ED on June 25, and at least 2 of his close aides were arrested -- has spurned the ED summons to join the probe.

While Deshmukh was summoned today, his son Hrishikesh has been summoned on Tuesday, July 6 for the probe into the alleged money-laundering charges after a complaint by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, after he was transferred from the post.

Among other things, Singh -- now the Commandant-General of Home Guards -- made the sensational claims that the ex-minister had allegedly given a target of Rs.100-crore per month collection to the now-dismissed Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze.

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said that it has arrested Kewal Krishan Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Shakti Bhog Foods Limited in connection with a money laundering case after searches at nine locations in Delhi and Haryana.

An ED official said that the financial probe agency arrested Kumar from Delhi on Sunday under the sections of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act.

Searches were carried out at nine premises located in Delhi and Haryana.

The official said that during searches various incriminating documents and digital evidence have been recovered.

The ED has registered a money laundering case on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI against Kumar and unknown others, for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct.

The ED said that the allegations against Kumar include diversion of funds from loan accounts by round tripping of funds through related entities and siphoning of funds was being done by way of suspicious sale or purchase from various entities.

The official said that after his arrest, Kumar was produced before the Special Court on Sunday which sent him to ED custody till July 9.

The official said that the Court noted that in the considered opinion, the court remand of Kumar was necessary and justified for fair and complete investigation of the matter.

Over the past seven years, corporate India has seen more fraud than in the past 70 years. After the excesses post the GFC where credit was loose and corporate India ambitions ran faster than their business acumen it took years to absorb the fall-out from defaults, NPLs and recovery proceedings.

However, the rise in corporate fraud was somewhat perplexing as it was disappointing. Since the IBC was implemented, many such discoveries unearthed as independent resolution professionals take charge of the company's affairs. Additionally, banks and financial institutions have no incentive to compromise or gloss over transgressions, which in the era before the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, would have either gone undiscovered or covertly allowed to exist without acknowledgement of its existence.

Promoters have an unquestionable grip on their companies, lenders and minority shareholders. Even professional employees get the wrong end of that stick. It also depends on how one defines management conduct. Frauds and misdeeds at financial institutions (such as banks and NBFCs) have tremendous ramifications given the inherent leveraging of driven business models. The demise of Yes Bank, Religare, Laxmi Vilas Bank, IL&FS and DHFL all have been mired with fraud, corruption and siphoning -- showing that the misconduct of whether promoters or professionals have been laid bare.

In contrast, there are the likes of BR Shetty (promoter of NMR Health and Finbar) blaming their professional management for the intricate fraud in their company. Avantha Group (led by promoter Gautam Thapar) received similar blame with the promoter claiming ignorance, delaying the resolution process. Meanwhile, the case of Cox and Kings is more like a thriller movie than a corporate process where the promoter (Peter Kerkar) claims he was duped by collusion between his management, banks and investors. It's hard to believe that promoters helmed affairs for over two decades in each of these companies and yet don't know what the company's true affairs look like.

Anyone who's interacted with senior management in promoter-owned Indian companies (including the likes of SEBI and RBI) can tell you that the finances of every Indian company are controlled by the promoter's family with an irongrip. That's one reason bankers in India always want the personal guarantee of promoters because they are implicitly acknowledging that promoters treat the companies as their own wealth, so transferring between the promoter's wealth and company assets cannot be prevented.

Hence, bankers should be able to go after the promoter's assets if the company's assets are insufficient for debt repayments. Undoubtedly, promoters have the power, authority, ability and opportunity to know if there were rogue employees or if this is a crafty scheme to benefit from perceptions of high performance and stock prices as well as deflecting risk on the way down.

The list of corporate frauds keeps growing, showing corporate India's underbelly. While there's hope of startups achieving 'unicor' status, there's also a grave reminder that corporate India has many dark corners that must be cleansed. Measures must be implemented to deter such behaviour -- whether by promoters or professionals. Only when such bad behaviour dissipates that banks can resume lending to corporates and have minority investors investing again -- regaining the trust within corporate India.

Data reported by RBI paints a grim picture of public money lost in India's corporate fraud. It's shocking to see that in the past ten years, reported fraud has gone up by nearly 100 times, increasing from Rs 2,000 crore in FY 2010 to Rs 1,85,000 crore in FY 2020! Interestingly, this declined to Rs 138,422 crore in FY2021, although the absolute number remains uncomfortably elevated. The reporting by private sector banks increased in FY21 versus FY20 (+35%) while that of PSU banks declined (-45%) -- perhaps reminding us that the fraud is pervasive, not only by hiding in PSU banks but also finding its way into well-managed private sector banks. One would suspect this jump could also be due to the reporting at Yes Bank.

Year of Reporting Amount of Fraud (INR Cr)

2008-09 -- 1,683

2009-10 -- 1,997

2010-11 -- 3,882

2011-12 -- 4,497

2012-13 -- 8,665

2013-14 -- 10,093

2014-15 -- 19,456

2015-16 -- 18,698

2016-17 -- 23,928

2017-18 -- 41,167

2018-19 -- 71,543

2019-20 -- 185,644

2020-21 -- 138,422

Some of the large names underlying this fraud include Bhushan Power and Steel (Rs 4,000 crore), Cox and Kings (over Rs 6,000 crore), Religare Group (over Rs 3,600 crore), Dewan Housing (over Rs 6,000 crore), CG Power (Rs 3,000 crore).

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) In a big setback to late Congress leader Ahmed Patel's son-in-law Irfan Ahmed Siddiqui and Bollywood actor Dino Morea, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Friday that it has attached their properties in connection with the Sandesara Group bank fraud case.

An ED official said that the financial probe agency on Friday attached eight immovable properties, three vehicles, and several bank accounts/shares/mutual funds having a total value of Rs 8.79 crore belonging to four persons under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the Sandesara Group case.

The official said that the agency attached properties to the tune of Rs 1.4 crore belonging to Morea, besides attaching properties worth Rs 2.41 crore in the name of Siddiqui.

Besides these two, the agency also attached properties worth Rs 3 crore belonging to one Sanjay Khan, and properties worth Rs 1.98 crore in the name of one Aqeel Abdulkhalil Bachooali. The ED had registered a case of money laundering on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI against several entities for cheating various public sector banks.

The official said that during the probe, it was revealed that the Sandesaras had diverted the proceeds of crime of Rs 3 crore, Rs 1.4 crore, Rs 12.54 crore and Rs 3.51 crore to Sanjay Khan, Dino Morea, Aqeel Bachooali and Irfan Ahmed Siddiqui, respectively.

Earlier, the ED had attached properties to the tune of Rs 14,513 crore in connection with the case. "With the latest additions, the total attachments, in this case, have reached Rs 14,521.80 crore. The total proceeds of crime, in this case, is more than Rs 16,000 crore," the official said.

The ED has also filed a charge sheet along with four supplementary charge sheets in connection with the case and has arrested four persons so far. The official said that Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara, Dipti Chetan Sandesara and Hitesh Patel have been declared fugitives by a special court.

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Saturday said that it has busted a drug trafficking syndicate operating over darknet and arrested eight persons who were involved in the trade.

NCB Deputy Director K.P.S. Malhotra said that the drug law enforcement agency launched a special drive against psychotropic drugs trafficking especially those using the darknet and internet pharmacy route.

He said that the agency seized 22 lakhs of psychotropic drugs, 70,000 Codeine Based Cough Syrups (CBCS) and 245 kg of psychotropic drugs and arrest of eight persons.

The official said that the agency carried out searches in various parts of Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Explaining the modus operandi of the syndicate, Malhotra said, "This module has a modus operandi of getting the orders through darknet market host, websites created, internet pharmacy and and the same are delivered through the dedicated shippers to create anonymity between the receiver of the order and logistic persons."

The NCB official said that the investigation so far was based on the specific input that a trafficking network is involved in exportation of psychotropic drugs from India to various parts of world, few consignments were seized and the same were backtracked.

"During investigation, it was found that the shippers are primarily in Delhi NCR and are using fake identities. Based on the backtrack investigation, one of the shipper K. Aggarwal a resident of Agra was was arrested," he said.

Malhotra said that during his questioning Aggarwal disclosed that he gets his drugs supply from one of the suppliers in Agra.

Following the disclosure, the NCB arrested A. Goyal from Agra, he said that the arrest of A. Goyal led to a startling fact that they are getting the psychotropic drugs from a Haridwar based pharmaceutical company, which is involved in legal production and in that garb, is diverting these psychotropic drugs to these traffickers.

"Raid was conducted at Haridwar at the premises of the pharmaceutical company and their distribution centre based in Agra. The total 37 seizures were affected from this syndicate leading to a cumulative figure of 22 lakhs of psychotropic drugs, 70,000 Codeine Based Cough Syrups (CBCS) and 245 Kg psychotropic drugs," Malhotra said.

The NCB official further said that following more disclosures by the arrested accused, the agency identified A. Sharma and P.Sharma both masterminds of the syndicate.

They were arrested and their associates -- J. Prasad and G. Kumar, who were providing them logistic support in maintaining their websites, darknet sites, order list maintenance and managing the delivering of the parcels or couriers have also been arrested.

He said that they have their counterparts or associates in USA and Canada, which are under probe. The official said that the accused were using various website to attract clients or drug abusers in USA and other countries.

"They had listed these websites out of India and all the footprints of these websites were cleverly camouflaged by using outside India IP addresses. And for the financial transactions they had maintained international accounts based outside of India," the official said.

He said that during investigation it was revealed that to gain the confidence of the clients, who were primarily based in North America, they had opened these accounts in those territories.

The official added that there accounts were listed as vendors on darknet and they accepted payment in the form of multiple cryptocurrencies like bitcoins.

Malhotra pointed out that investigation has revealed that they had shipped multiple orders or parcels to various countries including US, UK, Canada and Philippines.

"The digital forensics is reflecting figures around a lakh of such orders, which are being backtracked and the detailed network investigation is underway," he said, adding that the syndicate members are very tech-savvy.

Malhotra said that the members of the syndicate used VOIP methods to communicate with each other and that is using VPN, to avoid the surveillance of drug law enforcement agencies.

Mumbai, June 26 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested two aides of former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh in connection with an alleged 'hafta' case, officials said here.

They are Kundan Shinde and Sanjeev Palande working as personal staffers with Deshmukh, a senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party.

The action came a day after the ED carried out raids on the Nagpur and Mumbai residences of Deshmukh besides his aides and associates, sparking protests from a the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Earlier on April 24, the Central Bureau of Investigation had raided around 10 locations of Deshmukh in multiple cities after he was booked.

The 71-year-old leader was detained for several hours at his home during the searches on his premises then.

Following the allegations against him and the Bombay High Court directives, Deshmukh quit as the Home Minister of Maharashtra on April 5.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) The Union Finance Ministry on Saturday said that increase in deposits of Indians in Swiss Banks could be on account of increase in business of Swiss bank branches located in India and raised Inter-bank transactions, rather than due to an increase in alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland.

It, however said that Swiss Authorities have been requested to provide the relevant facts along with their view on possible reasons for increase or decrease in deposits so that facts could be presented in correct perspective.

Certain reports suggested that that funds of Indians in Swiss Banks have risen to over Rs 20,700 crore (CHF 2.55 billion) at the end of 2020 from Rs 6,625 crore (CHF 899 million) at the end of 2019, reversing a 2 year declining trend. It has also been stated that this is also the highest figure of deposits in the last 13 years.

"Reports allude to the fact that the figures reported are official figures reported by banks to Swiss National Bank (SNB) and do not indicate the quantum of much debated alleged black money held by Indians in Switzerland. Further, these statistics do not include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in the names of third-country entities," the Ministry statement said.

The statement added that the customer deposits have actually fallen from the end of 2019 in a Swiss Banks. The funds held through fiduciaries has also more than halved from end of 2019. The biggest increase is in "Other amounts due from customers". These are in form of bonds, securities and various other financial instruments, the finance min statement said.

The ministry also ascribed various other reasons for increase in deposits and not possibly on account of the increase of deposits in the Swiss banks out of undeclared incomes of Indian residents. It said that that increase in deposits may be on account if increase in deposits owing to the business of Swiss Bank branches located in India or Increase in Inter- bank transactions between Swiss and Indian Banks. Also, it could be due to capital increase for a subsidiary of a Swiss Company in India or increase in the liabilities connected with the outstanding derivative financial instruments.

The government has issued clarifications in wake of widely held position that it has curbed generation of black money in the economy or unaccounted funds of Indians stashed abroad. The fresh tax agreements reached between India and certain perceived tax havens has introduced certain instruments to prevent round tripping of funds and generation of black money.

It is pertinent to point out that India and Switzerland are signatories to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC) and both countries have also signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) pursuant to which, the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) is activated between the two countries for sharing of financial account information annually for calendar year 2018 onwards.

Exchanges of Financial Account information in respect of residents of each country have taken place between both countries in 2019 as well as 2020. In view of the existing legal arrangement for exchange of information of financial accounts (which has a significant deterrent effect on tax evasion through undisclosed assets abroad), there does not appear to be any significant possibility of the increase of deposits in the Swiss banks which is out of undeclared incomes of Indian residents, the finance ministry said.

Mumbai, June 17 (IANS) Netting the biggest catch so far in the sensational SUV planting-cum-businessman murder cases, the National Investigation Agency on Thursday arrested former high-profile 'encounter specialist' Pradeep Sharma - labelled as the 'Dirty Harry' of the Mumbai Police - along with two other key conspirators. A court sent all three to NIA custody till June 28.

While Sharma, a professor-turned-cop-turned-Shiv Sena activist, was picked up from a location in Lonavala hillstation in Pune district, the other duo was rounded up from a Mumbai suburb. The arrests were preceded by a surprise dawn swoop on Sharma's Andheri East residence from where the NIA and Mumbai Police teams recovered a revolver and collected various evidences like files, documents, laptops, etc.

On the revolver, Sharma told the court that it was a licensed weapon, but the license had expired and he had not renewed it, besides he was a former policeman, and if he was connected with the (Mansukh Hiran) murder, why was he not nabbed earlier. 
He argued that this was a "conspiracy" against him and there was "group in Mumbai Police" which was targeting him.

Besides Sharma, the others nabbed are Satish T. Mothkuri alias Vickybaba, 40, and Manish V. Soni, 46, both from Malad suburb. This has taken the total number of people arrested by the NIA in the twin cases to 10 till date. The NIA action and arrests - the fifth involving a former cop and the 10th so far - came in the sensational case of the abandoned SUV with 20 gelatin sticks and a threat note, found near Antilia, home of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, on February 25.

Soon after that, the police recovered the body of SUV owner Hiran from the Thane Creek marshes on March 5, as both the cases triggered a massive political row.

Last week, the NIA had arrested two other persons, identified as Santosh Atmaram Shelar, and Anand Pandurang Jadhav, both from a slum pocket in Kurar village of Malad East for their roles in the twin cases. Police sources said that their custodial interrogation revealed more details of the role of Sharma - once labeled as the 'Dirty Harry' of Mumbai Police with 103-mafia scalps to his credit - and culminated in Thursday's action.

Earlier, the NIA had arrested five other persons including former cops like Sachin Vaze, Riyazuddin Kazi, Sunil Mane, convicted ex-cop Vinayak Shinde and cricket bookie Naresh Gor. Hailing from Agra, Sharma, a controversial former Senior Police Inspector, had been earlier interrogated by the NIA a couple of times last April in the same cases.

Sharma is reported to be close to Vaze, who is named as one of the prime accused in the SUV-Hiran cases, and the duo had allegedly met in early-March when the plot to eliminate Hiran was hatched, as Sharma had gone to the Mumbai Police Commissionerate to meet some other persons.

A former college professor-turned-policeman of the 1983 batch state cadre, he built up a formidable reputation for wiping out the Mumbai mafia through the so-called "encounter killings". Sharma had mentored and tutored other high-profile cops like Daya Nayak, a canteen waiter from Karnataka, and also the tech-savvy Vaze, besides others who made up the crack teams of "encounter specialists" dreaded by the Mumbai mafia in the 1990s.

During their heydays - among themselves, Sharma, Ravindra Angre, Praful Bhosle, B. Raju Pillai, Vinayaka Sawade, Nayak, besides 26/11 martyr Vijay Salaskar - had totally killed 1,000-plus big and small criminals, gangsters, terrorists and other anti-socials, becoming heroes and the subject of Bollywood films like 'Ab Tak Chhappan'.

Subsequently, after the ire of public and rights groups, all were gradually marginalised, most of them have lost their previos glory and now, they just kill time! Even Sharma, like Vaze and some others, was dismissed from the police in 2008 for alleged links with the underworld, but was reinstated around after 10 years when the charges against him failed.

In 2017, he started his second innings with a thunderbolt by the daring arrest of Iqbal Ibrahim Kaskar - the younger sibling of absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar - in September 2017, on extortion charges.

In 2019, he took VRS and quit the police force to join the Shiv Sena and unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections from Nalasopara constituency in Palghar.

Ahead of the hearing of Indian fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi's bail plea in Dominica, his lawyer contended on Monday that two new evidences have come to light to show that his "abduction" was pre-planned - alleged "decoy" Barbara Jarabik had asked an AirbnB agent whether the property she was inquiring was booked by a UK travel agency, and video evidence shows the arrival and departure in Jolly Harbour of the boat upon which the bound and gagged diamantaire was taken out to sea to be transferred to the larger ship for the "unlawful journey" to Dominica.

Michael Polak, part of the legal team representing Choksi and an expert in providing legal assistance to foreign nationals around the world, said that while "terrible ordeal" for the diamantaire, and "this attack on the rule of law", took place on May 23, the "planning for what was to happen to Choksi occurred much earlier".

"In April 2021 what may have been a reconnaissance trip or failed kidnap attempt took place,"" Polak said, adding that four individuals travelled to the Caribbean from London in April and one of these was Jarabik, the person who Choksi accuses of luring him to the spot where he was attacked and kidnapped in May.

He alleged that in April, Jarabik flew with one of the men, from London to Antigua and then on to Dominica.

"During this period,and coinciding with the exact point when Jarabik and the man she travelled with were in Dominica, two men attempted to enter Dominica by boat but were barred as being suspected of people trafficking. These men were the same men, who Choksi says kidnapped him on the day after he had been offloaded to the Dominican Police," he claimed.

"The April trip may have been adress rehearsal for the May kidnapping because exactly what happened on that occasion, including Jarabik and her handler leaving Dominica by private jet, took place on May 23 when Choksi was kidnapped."

Choksi, who is wanted in India in RS 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank fraud case went missing from Antigua and Barbuda on May 23, sparking a massive manhunt. He was captured in Dominica on May 26, and faces charges of illegal entry.

Polak further said that on May 8, in what seems to have been in preparation for the kidnapping, Choksi says that an Airbnb villa was rented by Jarabik and that this was the place to which he was lured and kidnapped from. He said that Jarabik in her Airbnb messages in regard to renting Jolly Harbour North Villa F on May 8 asked about being able to dock a small boat at the property."It should be noted that she told the host they might take both Villas F and the apartment next door, and then subsequently Villa E was booked by Skylord Travel Ltd, a UK-based travel agency with offices in London and Birmingham," Polak said.

"It is not suggested that this company was involved in the kidnapping," he, however, added.

"Subsequently, this is confirmed by Jarabik when she states in a message that the agent from London booked Villa E. It is likely that the men who booked Villa E, through the travel agent, were part of the group who attacked and kidnapped Choksi," the lawyer said.

Citing the statement of Choksi that he was kidnapped from the residence of Jarabik on May 23 and taken on a boat forcibly, Polak also shared the two videos of a boat, saying: "As can be seen, this boat was unmarked, carried no flag or name, and was moving much faster than the speed limit in the area of 5mph."

He further said that sources state that the Calliope of Arne was spotted in Jolly Harbour on the afternoon of May 23 having cleared customs to leave Antigua just after 10 a.m. and therefore should have left Antiguan waters at that time but was seen going back and forth just outside Jolly Harbour.

Targeting Jarabik, the lawyer said that at 7.26 p.m. just after the time when the kidnapping took place, she travelled from Antigua to Dominica by private jet with the same man with whom she had made the practice trip in April.

"Two men entered Antigua on the boat the Calliope of Arne on May 25 after Choksi had been renditioned to the Dominican authorities from this boat. These men were the same two who had undertaken the same boat trip during the practice run in April," he alleged.

Polak has also filed a complaint filed with the Metropolitan Police on June 7, alleging that Choksi was allegedly lured by Jarabik and then attacked and taken by force by several men to Dominica in a boat. The complaint has also claimed that Jarabik and three men allegedly involved in the incident - St Kitts and Nevis national Gurdip Bath, Gurmit Singh and Gurjit Singh Bhandal - are all residents of the UK.

IANS was first to report report names of Singh and Bhandal on June 4.

The diamantaire is wanted in India by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in Rs 13,500 crore case. He had taken the citizenship of Antigua in 2017 and left India on January 4, 2018 days before the case came to light.

(Courtesy IANS)