Doha, 7 November 2022 (TDI): Eight retired Indian Navy officers, including two Commanders, who were employed by a private company in Doha have been detained by authorities in Qatar.
Purnendu Tiwari, one of the two former Commanders, has been recognized. He was given the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2019 by Ram Nath Kovind, the Indian President at the time.
Reportedly, India is attempting to extradite former Indian Navy officials who have been held in Qatar by the country’s State Security Bureau for nearly two months.
The detained Indian Navy officers were training Qatari Emiri Navy personnel for a Doha-based firm. “The Indian Embassy in Doha is in contact with local administration and is attempting to understand the facts of the situation,” a source said.
All of those arrested were connected to Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services. Their employer, however, has not issued a statement regarding their arrest.
Also read: Qatar and Kuwait summon Indian envoys
Squadron Leader Khamis Al Ajmi, a former Royal Oman Air Force officer, leads the company. It is pertinent to note that a woman named Meetum Bhargava shared a post about the arrest of former Indian navy officials on social media.
She pleaded for action to be taken to bring the detained former official back to India urging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, & Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
According to the company’s LinkedIn page, Commander Purnendu Tiwary (Retd), Commander Ajay Tiwary (Retd), Commander Anish Thakur (Retd), and Sajan Babu attended the Flag Hoisting ceremony and cultural programme at the Indian Cultural Centre Doha on the occasion of India’s independence day on August 15.
