Modi government disclosed: 7,890 Indians are lodged in jails around the world, know how many people in which country

The government told Parliament on Wednesday that 7,890 Indian nationals are lodged in various jails of other countries as of February 2021 and more than half of them are prisoners from Gulf countries where they had gone in search of better employment. Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muralitharan said that Saudi Arabia is at the forefront with 1,570 prisoners, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranks second with 1,292 Indian prisoners. At present, 460 Indian nationals are lodged in jails in Kuwait, while 439 in Qatar, 178 in Bahrain, 70 in Iran and 49 in Oman are in Indian jails.

The minister further said that about 2,000 Indian nationals are lodged in various jails of seven neighboring countries. Maximum of them (886) are in various jails of Nepal, followed by 524 in Pakistan, 157 in China, 123 in Bangladesh, 91 in Bhutan, 67 in Sri Lanka and 65 in Myanmar.

Muralitharan said that 267 Indian citizens are lodged in various jails of the US and 373 in the UK. 409 and 71 Indian nationals are in their jails in Singapore and Malaysia. The minister said that there are 41 Indians in the Philippines, 23 in Thailand and 20 in Indonesia.

The Minister said that Indian Missions closely monitor the incidents of Indian citizens in jails abroad for violating local laws or for alleged violations of local laws. Apart from providing all possible consular assistance to them, Indian missions also assist in providing legal assistance wherever necessary.

The minister said that there is a regular process of consultation and coordination with the countries concerned on the issue of repatriation of Indian citizens in foreign jails, including bilateral agreements for the transfer of sentenced persons.