8 Navy Men Sentenced To Death In Qatar, Indian Government says ’Shocked’; Opposition says ’Shocked’ by Modi Government’s ‘Apathy’ For 15 Months

Eight retired veterans of the Indian Navy were arrested in Doha in August 2022. They were sentenced to death by the Qatar Court on October 26 this year, almost 15 months later. At the time of detention, the navy veterans were working in their personal capacity for Dohra Global, an Omani private defence consultancy. There is however no clarity as to why were the Indians arrested and why they were sentenced to death. Sources indicate there are charges of espionage against the eighty-seven officers and one sailor.

While for 15 months the navy veterans have been under detention in Qatar, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that it was “deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty” and that it was “exploring all legal options”. Authorities from both sides have been tight-lipped about the matter. Qatar media haven’t spoken about the matter. Sources within the Indian External Affairs ministry claim that they have initiated diplomatic efforts for early resolution of the issue. The option of approaching the international court also stays, like in the case of former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was detained by Pakistani authorities in 2016 on charges of alleged espionage and later sentenced to death by a military court in Pakistan.

Opposition parties in India have questioned the silence on the part of the Government and alleged “ignorance on the part of MEA has led to this”.
“On 1st October, I’d written to foreign minister Dr Jaishankar asking for immediate intervention in release of Indian Navy veterans…he never took cognisance. Modi government saying they are shocked is a lie…What kind of Viswaguru does Modi claim to be if he can’t save our people?”, wrote Saket Gokhale, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter).

Congress too has lashed out at the BJP and called out the ‘apathy’ of the government towards the issue. Congress claims India’s failure to bring the Navy men back would mean their blood in the hands of the Indian Government. “I had raised this issue in Lok Sabha as to what were the charges against them. It is astounding that the cavalier manner in which BJP government, Minister Jaishankar and his ministry have dealt with the issue. If anything happens to these 8 people then their blood will be on the hands of the NDA-BJP government”, said Congress Rajya Sabha MP Manish Tiwari.

Dohra Global, the company where the 8 men used to work, was shut down in May this year and replaced by Advanced Services and Maintenance. Allegations are that the 8 Navy personnel engaged in spying on Israel. The 8 men also included decorated officers.

1. Retd Captain Navtej Gill
Captain Gill is from Chandigarh, the son of a retired Army officer. Recipient of President’s Gold Medal award. He has served at the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington. He was posted at INS Viraat, India’s second aircraft carrier which was decommissioned in 2017, as a navigating officer. He also commanded INS Prabal — an advanced missile corvette and the lead ship of the Killer squadron, that was used for bombing Karachi port during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

2. Retd Commander Sugunakar Pakala

An alumnus of Sainik School, Korukonda, he was an engineering officer in the Navy, holding the unique record of crossing the equator twice aboard INS Tarangini, a 500-tonne sailship.

3. Retd Captain Saurabh Vashisht
An engineering officer in the Navy from Dehradun, Captain Vashisht received commendations from C-in-C twice. He has done courses at DSSC, Wellington as well as the College of Defence Management at Secunderabad.

4. Retd Commander Purnendu Tiwari
A navigation specialist from the executive branch of the Navy, Cdr Tiwari served on Rajput class destroyers. He was the first ever Armed Forces veteran to receive the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award. He was presented the honour by then-President Ramnath Kovind in 2019.

5. Retd Captain BK Verma
Captain Verma, a topper in the Staff College Course, was a navigation specialist and had served aboard a Godavari class ship.

Others among the 8 arrested Navy men are Retd Commander Amit Nagpal who was a communications specialist in the Navy, Retd Commander SK Gupta and a non-commissioned officer named Ragesh.​