8,343 Indian prisoners lodged in foreign jails, Ministry of External Affairs informed

A total of 8,343 Indian prisoners are lodged in various jails across the world. Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, V Muraleedharan gave this information in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He said that the government accords top priority to the safety and welfare of Indians abroad, including in foreign jails.

Responding to a question, he said that as per the information available with the ministry, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has the highest number of Indian prisoners at 1,926. After this, there are 1,362 prisoners in Saudi Arabia and 1,222 in Nepal. Muraleedharan further said, "As per the information available with the ministry, the number of Indian prisoners, including undertrials, in foreign jails is 8,343."

Muraleedharan said Indian missions abroad keep a close watch on incidents of Indian nationals being jailed for alleged violations of local laws. He said that India has signed transfer of sentenced persons (TSP) agreements with 31 countries.