New Delhi : According to sources who spoke to NDTV, the seven Navy veterans who were imprisoned in Qatar and returned to India today were unaware that they would soon be released. According to the sources, jailors advised the veterans to pack their belongings and wait until approximately 9:00 a.m. (local time) last evening. According to sources, they were then spirited off to the Embassy and then to the airport. They got on an IndiGo plane, and two in the morning it landed in Delhi.
Eight Indians, including the seven veterans, were given death sentences by a Qatari court in October on suspicion of spying. In December, the death penalty was revoked as a result of diplomatic intervention from India. The lone veteran who hasn't returned yet is completing some paperwork and should be back soon.
These veterans, who are retired, are 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. Captain Navtej Singh Gill is back today. The eight veterans have been detained in jail since their capture in Qatar in 2022.
Despite rumors that they were detained on espionage charges, neither New Delhi nor Doha have addressed the accusations in the media. The veterans worked for a private company called Dahra Global and were involved in the Qatar Navy's training prior to their detention.
Eight Indian citizens "working for the Dahra Global company who were detained in Qatar" have been released, according to a statement from the External Affairs Ministry announcing their release. Seven of the eight have left and gone back to India. We value the Amir of the State of Qatar's decision to facilitate these citizens' release and return home," the ministry stated.
Shortly after meeting Qatar's Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, during the COP28 conference in Dubai in December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commuted the death sentence for the veterans.
Once back home, a veteran expressed gratitude to the prime minister. "We are overjoyed to be safely back in India. We certainly want to thank Prime Minister Modi, whose personal participation made this possible."
We had to wait a full year to return to India. The Prime Minister has our sincere gratitude. Without his direct involvement and his arrangement with Qatar, it would not have been feasible. Another stated, "We express our sincere gratitude to the Government of India for all the efforts undertaken.
