Eight former Indian Navy officers, who worked for a company that provides training and other services to the Qatari Emiri Navy, have been detained in Doha over espionage charges.
As per media reports, the Diplomatic tensions are high between Qatar and India since their detention.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday the Indian embassy in Doha was making all possible efforts for the early release and repatriation of the officers from Qatar, days after it emerged that they have been detained there.
This incident came to light when a woman named Meetu Bhargava on Tuesday, October 25, tweeted and appealed to the government for help
“Eight #IndianNavy veterans who had served the motherland are in illegal custody/detention in Doha (Qatar) for 57 days as on date. Request & plead our Indian Govt to act fast & get all these distinguished officers repatriated to India without any further delays @narendramodi," Meetu Bhargava in a series of tweet said.
In another tweet, Meetu has tagged Prime Minister and several ministers including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri
The detained officers include Commander Purnendu Tiwari (retired) He received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from the then President of India Ram Nath Kovind in 2019.
His profile on the company’s website reads— Purnendu commanded a minesweeper and a large warship in the Indian Navy.