A veteran of the Indian Navy who just returned from Qatar says, "Thank you, PM Modi," giving the Indian government "full credit" for sparing his life

A veteran of the Indian Navy who just returned from Qatar says, "Thank you, PM Modi," giving the Indian government "full credit" for sparing his life

One of the eight naval veterans released by Qatar, Captain Saurabh Vashishtha, has returned to his hometown of Dehradun. His family conveyed relief and appreciation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government for their efforts in obtaining his release.

Dehradun: Tuesday, February 13, 2024, sees the welcoming of retired Indian Navy Captain Saurabh Vashishtha by his family upon his return to India on Monday after his release from a prison in Qatar.

In a case involving alleged espionage in Qatar, Vashishtha and seven other Navy veterans received the death penalty.

At last, the family of Navy veteran Captain Saurabh Vashishtha—one of the eight officers released by Qatar—sighed with relief as he arrived back at his Dehradun residence. Mansa Vashishtha, his spouse, recalled the assurances given to her by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.

I find it hard to put that moment (when Captain Saurabh Vashishtha was condemned in Qatar) into words. A great deal of ambiguity existed. I was only able to spend brief amounts of time with him when I was living in Doha. Dr. S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, vowed to bring them all back, and the administration has honoured that commitment. Captain Vashishtha's wife told PTI, "I want to thank the government for bringing back my husband."

Mother of Captain Vashishtha was ecstatic as well. He said, "My happiness is as limitless as the sea or the sky."

However, Captain Saurabh Vashishtha expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his hands-on assistance. "The generosity of the Emir of Qatar" was another thing for which he was thankful.

"This was the day I had been looking forward to. Captain Saurabh Vashishtha said, "Today, I am standing here in Dehradun with my family, and it is all due to the personal involvement of PM Modi with the Qatar government.

The Indian government deserves all the credit for making the impossibly feasible."

He said that he didn't want to go back on his early years in Qatar. "The past is behind us. I have to start again now." "I'm considering that. Being back with my wife, parents, and children makes me extremely happy," he said.

He heard his father say the same thing.

"I hung up the phone on the first call. The phone rang again shortly after that. He introduced himself as Saurabh and requested me not to end the phone before I could say anything further. "Where is he calling from?" he asked. Delhi, and he returned with all of his friends. The father of the Navy veteran remarked, "Our joy knew no bounds when we heard this around three in the morning."

Charges made against officers of the Indian Navy

Eight veterans of the Indian Navy were imprisoned in Qatar in October of 2022. They said he was snooping on a project involving submarines. The precise grounds for his execution sentence from a Qatari court in December 2023 remain undisclosed. On February 12, Qatar freed the veterans of the Indian Navy, marking a significant diplomatic win for India.