Kuwait: Hundreds of Indian workers in Kuwait have appealed to the government to secure the release of 25 colleagues who have been arrested on murder charges.
A video they sent out shows them asking the Indian embassy and the Indian and the Punjab governments to provide legal representation and secure the release of the 25 labourers, reports said.
The labourers were allegedly involved in a clash with Egyptian workers which led to the death of two Egyptians. The Indians were subsequently arrested. It is not clear where the incident took place. The fight was caught on a mobile camera.
Later, the Indians, most of whom are from Punjab, were seen saying in a video message that their colleagues were being in-treated in custody. They claimed their colleagues were not being given food and denied access to a lawyer.
Reacting to the appeal, the Indian government, said on Friday that the embassy in Kuwait will provide the accused “necessary consular assistance.”
“India’s Mission has taken up problems with Kuwaiti authorities. Will provide necessary consular assistance. All need to abide by local laws,” the Ministry of Eternal Affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said.
The Indian embassy officials have also visited the hospital where about 15 Indians were admitted after the incident, he said, adding no Indian was in critical state.
Noting that there is a 750,000-strong community of Indians in Kuwait which was well-respected, the Spokesperson said the incident relates to a very small segment of that community.
There was a brawl with some other nationals that led to situation where some of the Indians got arrested and the ministry has immediately taken action and written to Kuwait Foreign Ministry, the Spokesperson said.
However, he added that it was imperative for Indians to abide by the local laws and regulations.
He said the mission called the management of the company and tried to ensure that normal food provisions are there for all Indians in the camp. The mission officials have also spoken to the employee and asked them to allay concerns of their Indian workers.
Meanwhile, the workers, in their message, claimed that the company they worked with was also harassing them.
“Our firm is harassing us. I appeal to the Indian government for help. About 700 of us working here are being targeted,” said a worker in the video.
The worker said police was not communicating with them and are siding with the Egyptians.
They said they, unlike the Egyptians, were unable to tell their side of the story since they do not know Arabic.
— With inputs from PTI
