Mehul Choksi's first picture from Dominica jail surfaces in

New Delhi : First picture of fugitive jeweler Mehul Choksi from Dominica jail has surfaced on the internet after a court in the Caribbean island nation extended its order restraining its deportation till Wednesday.

The local court also directed that he must be taken for a medical test and a COVID-19 test. He had tested negative for coronavirus, local media reported.

On Wednesday, the court will hear a plea filed by Choksi to determine whether his detention is lawful; Mr. Choksi has been charged for entering the nation illegally.

Mehul Choksi was captured in Dominica earlier this week after he allegedly made an attempt to flee from the country. Media reports claimed that he had reached Dominica -- a tiny island nation in the Caribbean -- by boat.

Prior to which he was living in Antigua, where he had secured a passport, after fleeing from India before his multi-crore fraud with PNB Bank came to light.

After Choksi was detained, Antigua refused to take him back and Prime Minister Gaston Browne told news agency ANI that the country was in talks with the Dominican as well as Indian governments for his repatriation to India.

Investigators in India have filed fraud charges against Choksi, his nephew, Nirav Modi, and others in connection with their suspected involvement in fraudulent transactions that led to losses of about Rs 14,000 crore for the Punjab National Bank (PNB).