Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday (21) affirmed that absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi will not be spared and will be brought back to India to face the law.
Singh said this in a response to a question about Choksi surrendering his Indian passport at the High Commission at Guyana.
The diamond jeweller had taken citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda after his name cropped up in the USD two billion fraud at a Mumbai-based branch of the PNB along with his nephew and businessman Nirav Modi.
"We have brought the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act and there is a process under that law (to check fraud cases). Choksi will be brought to India for sure. No one will be spared. Action will be taken against everyone," the minister said.
Government sources said India continues to pursue Choksi's return with the government of Antigua through diplomatic and legal channels.
In August last year, India gave Antigua a request for Choksi's extradition, and also a team from India was also sent to Antigua to pursue the request.
Both Choksi and Nirav Modi are being probed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.