New Delhi : Forty Indian workers languishing in jail in Saudi Arabia for more than a year arrived on Friday after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj ensured their speedy release, reports IANS.
Sushma Swaraj, who was intimated on July 2 about the plight of these workers, mostly from Bihar and Rajasthan, took up the matter with the Indian ambassador and desired quick action, informed government sources said.
What followed were a series of quick responses from the Saudi authorities to the minister’s request.
The workers were employed by Nesma and Partners Company at a project in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and had been in detention since June 12, 2013 after a verdict of the higher court sentenced them to two months’ imprisonment.
They were unable to return as the company owner had invoked his private right of compensation for the loss of property caused by the workers, sources said. However, following Sushma Swaraj’s intervention, the company which had been reluctant to revoke its right for compensation not only agreed to waive it but also paid for the return passage of all the 40 workers. As a follow-up measure, Sushma Swaraj asked all Indian missions, where a significant number of Indian nationals are in jail, to provide updated information which will be monitored and acted upon, wherever required.
