Qatar releases 8 Indian ex-Navy men, 7 return home; PM Modi to visit Doha

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, February 12

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Doha on February 14 to meet the Emir of Qatar after Doha dropped the espionage charge against eight Indian ex-Navy men and released them. All but one of the freed Indians returned home late last night.

Editorial: Back from Qatar

Speaking on the case in which eight men were first given death sentences that were later commuted to imprisonment of varying durations, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said PM Narendra Modi personally supervised the developments in the case. “We are gratified by Qatar’s decision to release the Indians,” he said.

Were working on sensitive project

• 2018: Eight Navy veterans begin working on a sensitive Qatar Navy project
• Aug 30, 2022: They are arrested along with the owner of Al Dahra Global Tech company
• Sept 30, 2023: All 8 allowed “brief telephonic contact” with families
• Oct 26: All eight Indians sentenced to death by a Qatar court
• Dec 1: PM Modi meets the Emir of Qatar in the UAE
• Dec 28: Court of Appeal overturns the death sentence
• Feb 12, 2024: 7 Indians return home after charges dropped against them

Commander Tiwari still in Doha

• Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retd), who has been living in Qatar for over 20 years, reportedly needs some more time to wind up his establishment there
• Meetu Bhargava, his sister who brought the case into public domain via her posts on X, said her family had been provided information about his release

All major parties, including the BJP and the Congress, have welcomed their release.

The news about their release came in the form a terse two-sentence MEA statement at 2.30 am stating that the government welcomed the release of the octet, working for the Dahra Global company, who were detained in Qatar. “Seven out of the eight have returned to India. We appreciate the decision by the Emir of Qatar to enable the release and homecoming of these nationals,” it said.

The Indians returned home 46 days after their death sentences were commuted to jail terms of varying durations. The release came less than a week after India signed its biggest-ever $78 billion deal to extend LNG imports from Qatar by another 20 years till 2048. NSA Ajit Doval is also understood to have played a role in the negotiations. Video grabs showed the seven ex-Indian Navy men, looking in reasonably good health, walking out of a side exit from the airport terminal in Delhi. Those released by Qatar are: Captains (retired) Navtej Gill and Saurabh Vasisht; commanders (retired) Purnendu Tiwari, Amit Nagpal, SK Gupta, BK Verma and Sugunakar Pakala; and sailor Ragesh.

Commander Tiwari, who has been living in Qatar for over 20 years, apparently needed some time to wind up his establishment in Doha. Meetu Bhargava, his sister who brought the case into public domain via her posts on X, told agencies from Gwalior that her brother hadn’t come home, but the family had information about him being released.

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