New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has asked the centre to do everything in its power to save eight Indians who have been sentenced to death in Qatar in an alleged espionage case.

The Delhi Chief Minister’s comments came hours after the Foreign Ministry said it would “take up the verdict with Qatari authorities” and would continue to “extend all consular and legal assistance” to the Indians.

“This is a very worrying and shocking matter. The Indian government should save its people through political, diplomatic, legal or any means. The situation of Indians facing the death penalty in Qatar is a matter of concern,” Mr Kejriwal said in a statement.

He also re-posted on X, formerly Twitter, a report by NDTV India on the worrying development.

ये बेहद चिंताजनक और स्तब्ध कर देने वाला मामला है। भारत सरकार को राजनैतिक, कूटनीतिक, क़ानूनी अथवा किसी भी तरीक़े से अपने लोगों को बचाना चाहिए। https://t.co/LWaNOImw4P

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 26, 2023

India has said it is deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty. “We have initial information that the Court of First Instance of Qatar has today passed a judgment in the case involving eight Indian employees of Al Dahra company,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in the statement.

Al Dahra is a Gulf-based company that offers “complete support solutions” to the aerospace, security and defence sectors, according to its website.

“Due to the confidential nature of proceedings of this case, it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this juncture,” the MEA said in the statement, adding it was “exploring all legal options”.

The Indians sentenced to deaths are all former naval officers; they were arrested in Doha in August 2022.