8,343 Indians in jails abroad but data incomplete: Minister

New Delhi, February 3

The government on Friday informed Parliament that 8,343 Indians were in jail in various countries. The UAE has the most jailed Indians at 1,926 followed by Saudi Arabia (1,362) and Nepal (1,222).

Qatar and Malaysia with over 600 Indian prisoners came next followed by Kuwait. Among developed countries, the most number of Indian prisoners are in the US (264) and the UK (226).

The government learns about an Indian national detained when informed by the host government or when an individual seeks information. The data is incomplete because several countries do not share data on foreign nationals detained in their territories citing privacy laws.

“The government does not have any accurate data regarding Indians seeking asylum abroad because of privacy and data protection laws. The number of asylum seekers, which include Indian nationals in Austria, increased in 2022, according to media reports,” said Minister of State V Muraleedharan, adding that the government was working with the Austrian authorities to find out the exact number of Indians who had applied for asylum.

“The government does not have data on Indians deported because countries generally do not provide details about those sent due to lack of proper travel documents,” he said in his reply to questions.

“The government does not have cumulative data on deaths of Indians in foreign countries. Whenever any case of death of an Indian worker is reported, Indian Missions seek a probe and enable legal assistance through empanelled lawyers. It also facilitates the transportation of the remains or local burial. In addition, the government has been implementing a mandatory insurance scheme for all Emigration Check Required (ECR) category workers,” the minister added.