Over 6,000 Indians in foreign jails

NEW DELHI: There are over 6,000 Indian prisoners lodged in foreign jails for various crimes while another 117 are languishing abroad despite completion of their jail terms.

There are about 6004 Indians lodged in foreign jails for crimes like violation of immigration/visa rules, overstay, illegal entry, robbery, non-possession of valid travel documents, valid visa/permit, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

She added "however, some Indians have also been jailed for grave offences like drug trafficking, murder, rape etc.

"22 Indian nationals have died in foreign jails and 117 Indian nationals are languishing in foreign jails after completion of their sentences", Kaur said.

As per the official data, the highest number of Indian prisoners are in Saudi Arabia with 1,400 lodged there.

UAE jails have 1032 Indians while US has 514 Indians lodged in its jail. Pakistan has 213 Indian prisoners and there are 244 in Malaysia, 377 in Nepal, 222 in Kuwait and 152 in Singapore.

Of the 22 Indian prisoners who have died in foreign jails, six were in Sri Lanka and four in Bangladesh.