# Mehul Choksi lawyer Vijay Aggarwal charged with sexual assault in London 2026-08-20T12:12:43+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Vijay Aggarwal, the lawyer representing fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, has been charged with four counts of sexual assault following his arrest in London, the Metropolitan Police said on August 20. Aggarwal was arrested on August 11 at a property in Mayfair. His assistant, Manpreet Kaur, has been charged with two counts of intentionally encouraging or assisting sexual assault. Aggarwal appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on August 13 and was remanded in custody until the next hearing at Southwark Crown Court on September 10. The alleged offences occurred on May 26 and August 9, the police said. Two other individuals arrested at the same property have been released on bail. India Today initially reported that Aggarwal was arrested over immigration violations and that cash was found, but his family strongly denied any financial wrongdoing. The Hindu and Hindustan Times reported the sexual assault charges, citing the Metropolitan Police. Aggarwal represents Choksi, who is wanted in India over the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The coverage splits sharply. India Today led with immigration violations and alleged cash recovery, quoting only the family denial, while The Hindu and Hindustan Times led with the sexual assault charges from the Metropolitan Police, which India Today omitted. India Today's framing, unsupported by any official document, appears to downplay or ignore the most concrete development: a criminal charge from a UK police force. The middle ground: the police charge is the only confirmed official action, the immigration and cash claims remain uncorroborated. The next concrete date is the September 10 court hearing at Southwark Crown Court. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 2 neutral, 1 sensationalist - indiatoday.in (sensationalist) Led with unconfirmed immigration and cash allegations, omitted sexual assault charges - thehindu.com (neutral report) Straight reporting of Met Police charges, no framing beyond official account - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Straight reporting of Met Police charges with some background on Choksi This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-20T16:45:43+00:00. Tags: London, Mehul Choksi, Metropolitan Police, Vijay Aggarwal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/mehul-choksis-lawyer-charged-with-sexual-assault-in-london/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/mehul-choksis-lawyer-charged-with-sexual-assault-in-london/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/