Eight former officers of the Indian Navy have been handed death penalty in Qatar following allegations of observing for Israel, sources said. Calling the judgement “shocking”, the foreign ministry said it would not note much on the case given the” nonpublic nature of proceedings” but assured that it would dispute the case.
The men, including decorated officers who formerly commanded major Indian warships, were working for Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, a private establishment that handed training and related services to Qatar’s fortified forces. Sources said some of them were working on a largely sensitive design–Italian technology- grounded runt submarines with covert characteristics.
The men have been in jail since August 2022. Granted consular access to them, New Delhi has been working to secure their release. The men went to trial in March.
Their bail pleas were rejected multitudinous times and their detention extended by Qatari authorities. moment, the Court of First Instance of Qatar passed a judgement.
Those doomed are Capt Navtej Singh Gill, Capt Birendra Kumar Verma, Capt Saurabh Vasisht, Cdr Amit Nagpal, Cdr Purnendu Tiwari, Cdr Sugunakar Pakala, Cdr Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh.
“We’re deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement. We’re in touch with the family members and the legal platoon, and we’re exploring all legal options,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We attach high significance to this case, and have been following it nearly. We’ll continue to extend all consular and legal backing. We’ll also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities,” the ministry statement read.
Meetu Bhargava, family of one the former officers detained, had sought help from the government to bring her family back.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on June 8, she had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intermediate.
