Mehul Choksi’s wife breaks silence on ‘mystery woman’, says she fears for his life

According to Priti Choksi, her husband is going through physical and mental torture

Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi’s wife has finally broken her silence on the ‘mystery woman’, being identified as the diamantaire’s 'girlfriend'. Priti Choksi also said she is scared for her husband's life if he is sent back to India.

After the arrest, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne claimed that Choksi might have left Antigua and took a boat ride to Dominica to have dinner or a “good time” with his girlfriend.

“The woman was known to my husband, she would visit my husband when she came to Antigua. From what I have understood from people who have met her, the woman shown on media channels is not the same woman that they knew as Barbara,” Priti Choksi told ANI.

ANI posted a tweet thread of Priti’s statements, where she said, “What has brought anguish to the family is physical torture and total disregard for the human rights of my husband.”

Over a phone call with Hindustan Times, Choksi’s wife called his disappearance a ‘hostage situation’. “A crime has been committed. My husband has been taken hostage,” she added.

“We, as a family, are deeply anguished by PM Gaston Browne’s statements. My husband is treated like a criminal here (in Antigua) because of the statements that Mr Gaston Browne has made in the past of calling him a ‘crook’, etc. etc; and on what basis I have no idea. A man who was trying to live his life quietly is being targeted in this manner,” Priti Choksi told HT.

According to Priti, her husband is going through physical and mental torture. She told ANI, "If someone really wanted him back alive, why did they need to torture and abuse him physically and mentally?"

She also told ANI that she has full faith in the justice system of the Caribbean nations and awaits his safe and rightful return to Antigua.

While it’s uncertain which country the businessman will be sent back to, Mehul Choksi’s bail has been denied by a magisterial court in Dominica in connection with illegal entry.