Rapatriation of 150 Indians delayed in Qatar

Dubai, Oct 5 (UNI) Repatriation of 150 Indians, including 35 women, who are currently being held at a detention centre in Qatar, is getting delayed as 90 per cent of them are absconding workers who do not have passports with them.

Around 28 Indians are languishing in the central jail in the country with a majority of them being under-trials, the Indian Embassy said.

The Qatar authorities have sent notifications to the sponsors of the detainees thrice to release their passports but in vain.

The embassy said it is ready to issue emergency travel documents, but the local authorities have not issued a clearance to this effect.

An embassy official said of the 28 Indian prisoners, six are fishermen who had strayed illegally into Qatar waters from Bahrain.

Six of the inmates are women, out of whom four are facing charges of having had illicit relations, one is undergoing trial for murder, while the last one is an absconding domestic.

UNI XC PR DS1501