Freed by Qatar, what Navy veterans said after landing in India

Setting foot in their homeland after several months of captivity in Qatar, seven of the eight Indian navy veterans who were detained on 'espionage' charges, returned home and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying they wouldn't have been freed without the intervention of the Prime Minister.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement released early on Monday, welcomed the development and said seven of the eight former Indian Navy personnel working for the Al Dahra Global Company, a private firm, returned to India from Qatar.

"The Government of India welcomes the release of eight Indian nationals working for the Dahra Global Company who were detained in Qatar. Seven out of the eight of them have returned to India. We appreciate the decision by the Emir of the State of Qatar to enable the release and home-coming of these nationals," the MEA said in a statement.

One of the Navy veterans who returned from Qatar said, "It wouldn't have been possible for us to stand here without the intervention of PM Modi. And it also happened due to the continuous efforts of the Government of India."

Another Navy veteran who returned from Qatar said, "We waited for almost 18 months to be back in India. We are extremely grateful to the PM. It wouldn't have been possible without his personal intervention and his equation with Qatar. We are grateful to the Government of India from the bottom of our hearts for every effort that has been made, and this day wouldn't have been possible without those efforts."

Relieved to finally walk free, the seven former Navy officers raised chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' after arriving at the Delhi airport in the early hours of Monday.

In December last year, a Qatari court reversed the death penalty of the eight Indian Navy veterans who were arrested in the Al Dahra Global case. The death sentence was reduced to jail terms.

The eight Indian Navy officials who were detained in Qatar are -- Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta, and Sailor Ragesh.

(Inputs from ANI)