New Delhi: Eight Indian Navy veterans who were jailed and given death sentence in Qatar have been released, the government said on Monday morning. The Indian Navy veterans were jailed over spying charges.
As per the official reports, seven of them have already reached India after an 18-month jail stay in Qatar.
Confirming the news, the Foreign Ministry said, “The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for the Dahra Global company who were detained in Qatar. Seven out of the eight of them have returned to India. We appreciate the decision by the Amir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals.”
It is worth mentioning here that eight Navy officials including Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, Commander Amit Nagpal, and Sailor Ragesh were arrested in August.
Reportedly, the officials were employed by a private firm, Dahra Global, and were in Qatar to assist with the introduction of Italian U212 stealth submarines into the Qatari Emiri Naval Force in their personal roles.
Following the arrest, a Qatari court sentenced them to death on October 26 yesteryear. The Indian government expressed shock over the news of the eight former Indian Navy personnel. Reportedly, their bail pleas were rejected numerous times and their detention extended by Qatari authorities.
After reaching India, the former officials thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government for securing their release.
Speaking to media, one of them said, “We are very happy that we are back in India, safely. Definitely, we would like to thank PM Modi as this was only possible because of his personal intervention.”
#WATCH | Delhi: Qatar released the eight Indian ex-Navy veterans who were in its custody; seven of them have returned to India. pic.twitter.com/yuYVx5N8zR
— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2024
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