India Confirms Arrest Of Ex-Naval Officer In Qatar; Seeks Consular Access
At a weekly media briefing on Friday evening, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi is in touch with Qatari authorities and pursuing consular access: Reports
NEW DELHI: India on Friday confirmed the arrest of former Indian naval officer Purnendu Tiwari in Qatar following a court verdict there, but said the matter is sub judice and did not disclose the charges against him. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said it is seeking consular access to Tiwari.
At a weekly media briefing on Friday evening, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi is in touch with Qatari authorities and pursuing consular access.
Tiwari was among the eight former Indian naval personnel who were released in Qatar two years ago after being accused of espionage and later exonerated. The other seven returned to India at that time, while Tiwari remained in Doha.
In a separate development, the MEA said it is also seeking consular access to 10 Indians arrested by the Iranian coast guard last month from a tanker on charges of alleged diesel smuggling. New Delhi added that it is verifying media reports from Russia claiming that three Indian nationals were among the crew on a Russia-flagged oil tanker seized by the US earlier this week.
Regarding Tiwari’s case, the MEA had said last year that he had certain commitments to fulfil in Doha before returning to India, without elaborating on the nature of those formalities. The ministry had also clarified that the earlier espionage charges against him no longer existed.
