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Eight retired veterans of the Indian Navy, who were detained in Doha in 2022, were sentenced to death by a Qatari court on Thursday (October 26). Seven commissioned officers and one sailor were working in their personal capacity for Dahra Global, an Omani private defence consultancy, to help oversee the induction of Italian U212 stealth submarines into the Qatari Emiri Naval Force.
The reasons for their arrest and death penalty are yet to be made public, although unconfirmed speculation has hinted at they were involved in espionage for a foreign state. Reacting to the news, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday that it was “deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty” and that it was “exploring all legal options”.
The names of the veteran officers are:
1. Captain Navtej Gill (Retd)
2. Commander Sugunakar Pakala (Retd)
3. Captain Saurabh Vashisht (Retd)
4. Commander Purnendu Tiwari (Retd)
5. Captain BK Verma (Retd)
6. Commander Amit Nagpal (Retd)
7. Commander SK Gupta (Retd)
8. Ragesh (Sailor)
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international