After a relentless pursuit of nearly two years by the officers of the CBI and the ED probing the Rs 14,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case in which the prime accused is Nirav Modi, it was for the first time on Thursday afternoon IST there were smiles on their faces. Even if there are not-very-old instances to cite where committing financial crimes on the soil of India and taking refuge outside has become a favourite pastime of many influential bigwigs, the Nirav Modi case has re-established the belief that the arm of law is adequately long enough to book culprits. Although there is jubilation now which is natural, it’s a long way to go in establishing real justice through trial in the country and the just punishment the offender(s) deserves as per law of the land.
Even if the case’s origin dates back three years earlier to January 2018, recalling it is easy since it created an uproar not only across the financial circles in the country, but also across the political spectrum too. Reportedly, as early as June 2017, the Income Tax department sniffed that a huge fraud engineered by Nirav and his uncle-cum-accomplice Mehul Choksi and their other associates was in the making wherein there involved huge over-valuation of stocks, bogus purchases, dubious loans, suspicious payments to relatives and multiple fraudulent Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) and a report was prepared accordingly. It further transpired that the said report, due to mysterious reasons, was not shared with the investigative agencies usually empowered to conduct such probes. It’s still yet another great mystery that remains unsolved till date how the duo managed to flee the country at least 2 weeks before the scam surfaced. With ‘how’, the question then arises with ‘whose’ help was the great escape a cake walk. True justice should never be expected if these ‘early happenings’ are not investigated and the protracted legal battle that lies ahead might provide the answers. The UK court made it categorically clear there exists strong evidence against Nivav Modi to corroborate the plea made by the Indian agencies that his physical deportation to India is an absolute necessity for furtherance of investigation. The UK investigation process has done its part with great dedication and it’s for the Indian counterparts to do the same if upholding justice is a prime objective. The road for bringing the virtuoso offender back in India is still not that smooth as perceived since, as per UK laws he will get the opportunity to knock the High Court and the Supreme Court there.
Nevertheless, it’s a victory for the Indian investigative agencies. But to send the message to the country’s prospective high-profile economic offenders nurturing the intention to rob the PSBs which is one of the frontline reasons for their perennial sickness, expediting the post-deportation ‘actions’ is very essential.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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