“Govt attaches the highest importance…” Jaishankar assures the families of 8 Former Indian Navy men on death row in Qatar

In the eye of a political storm, S. Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister met with the family members of the eight former Navy personnel who have been sentenced to death in Qatar and assured that the Government will be doing everything possible with the highest importance. “Met this morning with the families of the 8 Indians detained in Qatar. Stressed that the Government attaches the highest importance to the case. Fully share the concerns and pain of the families. Underlined that the Government will continue to make all efforts to secure their release. Will coordinate closely with the families in that regard." Jaishankar wrote on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter).

On October 26, a Qatar court gave a death sentence to the eight retired and decorated Indian Navy men. The charges against them are still not clear but there are allegations doing rounds of espionage. They were arrested in August 2022. They were working for a private company Dahra Global at the time of their arrest, but that company has now been disbanded. The fact that it has been over 15 months, the opposition parties have found the scope to question the Government’s intent and its ability for diplomacy. In December 2022, two members of the Parliament - Congress MP Manish Tiwari and BJD MP Sujit Kumar raised the issue on the floor of the house while seeking a response from the Government. Jaishankar had then stressed on the sensitivity of the matter while assuring that the Government was at it to secure the release of the 8 Indians in captivity.

After the death sentence was pronounced, the Ministry of External Affairs expressed “shock” over the verdict and said it would contest the Qatar court verdict. "We are deeply shocked by the verdict of the death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options," the MEA said in an official statement immediately after the verdict.

The MEA had further added that the Government has attached high importance to this case and has been following it closely. “We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities," the MEA statement added.


8 Indians on death row: Here is a timeline


On August 30, 2022, the eight men were arrested in Qatar. They were working for Dahra Global at the time of the arrest

October 2022: Consular access was granted.

March 2023: The last of the many bail pleas filed for the veterans were rejected. Charges were filed against the 8 former Navy men.

May 2023: Dahra Global closed all its operations.

August 2023: The solitary confinement of the eight men ended.

October 2023: A Qatar court awarded the death penalty to them.

Here are the names of the 8 former Indian Navy men

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 with the honor by then-President Ramnath Kovind in 2019.

5. Retd Captain BK Verma

Captain Verma, a topper in the Staff College Course, he 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.