Meetu Bhargava, a resident of Gwalior and the sister of one of the apprehended officers, approached the Indian government for assistance in rescuing her brother. She had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in in a post on X on June 8.
The Court of First Instance of Qatar convicted eight Indian workers of the Al Dahra company to death sentence on Thursday. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs stated that it was deeply shocked by this incident and is awaiting a detailed ruling. “We are in touch with the family members and the legal team. We are exploring all legal options,” the statement said.
“We attach high importance to this case, and have been following it closely. We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities. Due to the confidential nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” the statement stated.
Since October 2022, eight Indian nationals have been detained in Qatar on suspicion of spying on a submarine initiative. After granting the eight Indians consular access, New Delhi began negotiating for their release. Late in March, the Indian nationals had their first trial.
Meetu Bhargava, a resident of Gwalior and the sister of one of the apprehended officers, approached the Indian government for assistance in rescuing her brother. She had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in in a post on X on June 8.
These Ex Navy officers are the pride of the nation & again I request our Hon’ble Prime Minister with folded hands that it is high time that they all are brought back to India immediately without any further delay pl.@narendramodi @AmitShah @rajnathsingh @MOS_MEA
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— Meetu Bhargava (@DrMeetuBhargava) June 8, 2023
Who are these 8 ex-Indian Navy men?
The death penalty for eight Indian workers of the oil-rich Al Dahra company in Qatar has been announced. As per India Today, the names of the individuals who have been identified are Sailor Ragesh; Commander Amit Nagpal; Commander Purnendu Tiwari; Commander Sugunakar Pakala; Commander Sanjeev Gupta; and Captain Navtej Singh Gill. They were held in the Doha jail.
They were Indian Navy personnel once. Since August 2022, they have been under the custody of Qatari authorities. Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman for the external affairs ministry, stated that they were being held on unidentified charges at the time.
They were employed by a private company called Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, which trains the nation’s armed forces. Families claimed that neither Indian nor Qatari authorities had notified them of the formal charges, according to Indian Express. This month, India was anticipating a decision. On October 3, the case’s seventh hearing was held.
On October 1, the Indian ambassador to Qatar had a meeting with these men, HT reported. In an attempt to bring these men home, the Indian government has been working. Neither of the governments has provided specifics about the accusations made against them.