NEW DELHI: Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi made arrested in Belgium had made headlines four years ago when he had claimed abduction from the Caribbean island in May 2021. Later a detailed police report from Antigua supported his statement, identifying Hungarian national Barbara Jarabik and Gurdip Bath as prime conspirators in the plot. The report, accessed by TOI, provided a chilling account of the events that led to Choksi’s sudden appearance in Dominica.
Kidnapped from a villa, taken by boat
According to the report, Choksi was lured to a rented villa in Jolly Harbour by Barbara Jarabik under the pretense of a dinner invitation on May 23, 2021. Upon arrival, he was ambushed by a group of around 10 men, believed to be of Indian and local origin. He was reportedly gagged, bound to a wheelchair, and assaulted before being transported by boat to a yacht named Calliope of Arne and later taken to Dominica.
Details of the alleged plot
Gurdip Bath, traveling on a Kittitian diplomatic passport, checked into Cocobay Hotel on May 19, 2021. Hotel staff later reported seeing him with a woman resembling Barbara Jarabik. Bath reportedly visited Jolly Harbour multiple times and was picked up by a man in a white Hyundai Creta shortly before Choksi’s alleged abduction.
That same evening, Bath, Jarabik, and British national Leslie Farrow-Guy boarded a private flight to Dominica. Notably, the aircraft had arrived in Antigua with only its pilots and was scheduled to leave earlier but delayed its departure — a fact flagged by investigators.
Bath had previously traveled to Antigua in April 2021, along with Jarabik, allegedly on a reconnaissance trip. They checked into the Blue Waters Hotel together.
Barbara Jarabik, whose travel records show frequent visits to Antigua since 2019, had reportedly grown close to Choksi during her stays. She rented the villa in question a few days before the incident and had requested access to a private dock — which was used during the escape.
Leslie Farrow-Guy, identified as a British national, had rented the same white Hyundai Creta used during the operation and had arrived in Antigua around the same time as the other suspects.
