Madras HC directed CBI to Probe whether fugitive Koreans fled via Hyderabad:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was directed to probe whether two South Korean nationals, who escaped from Tamil Nadu police custody fled the country via Hyderabad. This direction came from the Madras High Court on Tuesday, reports media.

The two Koreans, Choi Yong Sak and Choe Jaewon, were in Tamil Nadu police custody in a case pertaining to evasion of GST to the tune of Rs 40 crore in 2019. They were Managing Director and General Manager respectively of Chowel India Pvt Ltd.

They were lodged in their residential flat as per directions of the Supreme Court. But the two South Koreans were reported to have escaped from the premises a fortnight ago. Reports said the two fugitives scaled down their eight-floor apartment complex and fled.

They were initially lodged in Puzhal central prison and later granted bail and were shifted to the foreigner’s detention camp at Trichy and the duo moved the Madras High Court that they be permitted to be lodged at their own



residence instead of the detention camp citing into consideration the Covid -19 outbreak.

Madras High Court rejected the application but the Supreme Court granted the order in their favour and was lodged in a multi-storied building at Oragadam in Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu. The duo scaled-down the eighth-floor building of the flat and had made good their escape.

Tamil Nadu police suspect that they had travelled to Hyderabad by road and took a flight to Manipur and from there crossed the international border and landed in South Korea. The police were in touch with the South Korean authorities to ascertain whether they had reached that country.

The court, on Monday, directed the CBI to conduct an inquiry into the incidents and produce a preliminary investigation report by January 25, 2022. There were reports that the duo had forged the documents and had received ground support in Tamil Nadu for their escape and the CBI will now probe all the angles related to the escape.