Lok Sabha Question No. 1860 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-07
Subject: Indians in Foreign Jails
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: KRISHN PRATAP SINGH, KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY, RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY, MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA, RAJESH PANDEY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1860 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.03.2018

## INDIANS IN FOREIGN JAILS

† 1860.

DR. KRISHAN PRATAP:

SHRI KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY:

SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR PANDEY:

SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA:

SHRI RAJESH PANDEY:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of Indian nationals (convicts and under-trials) lodged in foreign countries prisons, domicile, sex, offence and category-wise;
- (b) the number of Indians who have completed their jail terms and the details of steps taken to bring them back to the country;
- (c) the total number of applications for repatriation received and the total   number   of   Indian   nationals   repatriated   from   foreign   prisons since the enactment of the Repatriation of Prisoners Act in 2003;
- (d) the number of countries with which India has bilateral agreements in regard to repatriation of prisoners;
- (e) the details  of   the   inter-ministerial   process   of   interaction   between different Ministries and Departments; and
- (f) the details of the average time taken to process such repatriation requests?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

- (a) & (b) As   per   the   information   available   with   the   Ministry,   the number of Indian prisoners in foreign jails is 7850 and  the number of Indians who have completed their jail terms  is 360 as of 28.02.2018. Detailed country-wise list is given at Annexure. Due to strong privacy laws prevailing in many countries, the local authorities do not share information on prisoners unless the person concerned consents to the disclosure of such   information.   Even   countries,   which   share   information,   do   not generally provide the detailed information about the persons who have been imprisoned.
- (c) After the enactment of the Repatriation of Prisoners Act in 2003, 170  applications   for   repatriation   have   been   received   and  63  Indian prisoners have been repatriated from foreign prisons.
- (d) So far, India has signed bilateral agreements with 30 countries. Besides this, India has acceded to the Inter American Convention, by

virtue   of   which,   India   can   receive   and   send   requests   to   the   member countries as well as those countries who have signed/ratified the Inter American Convention. (e) & (f) In the process of repatriation, mainly two Ministries of the Government of India are involved i.e. Ministry of External Affairs (Consular, Passport & Visa Division) through its Missions and Posts abroad and the Ministry of Home Affairs (Centre-State Division). The processing of cases of transfer of prisoners involves steps like nationality   verification,   security   clearance,   views   of   Narcotic   Control Bureau (if   drug   trafficking   is   involved),   identification   of   prison   by   the State/Union Territory Government, completion of documents process by the India/foreign Mission concerned and consent of the transferring/receiving Governments. Time taken to process an application for   transfer   depends   on   the   completion   of   necessary   formalities   and documents   by   the   concerned   agencies   and   State/   Union   T erritory Governments.

- *****

## ANNEXURE

| S. No.   | Name of Country   | Number of Prisoners   | Details of Indian nationals lodged in foreign prisons (As per information received from our Missions / Posts abroad)   | Details of Indian nationals lodged in foreign prisons (As per information received from our Missions / Posts abroad)   | Details of Indian nationals lodged in foreign prisons (As per information received from our Missions / Posts abroad)                                                    | Number of Indians who have completed their jail terms   |
|----------|-------------------|-----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | Name of Country   | Number of Prisoners   | Domicile-wise                                                                                                          | Sex-wise                                                                                                               | Offence-wise                                                                                                                                                            | Number of Indians who have completed their jail terms   |
| 1.       | Armenia           | 1                     | Details not provided                                                                                                   | 1 - Male                                                                                                               | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                    | Details not provided                                    |
| 2.       | Austria           | 5                     | 5 - Punjab                                                                                                             | 5 - Male                                                                                                               | Murder                                                                                                                                                                  | Details not provided                                    |
| 3.       | Australia         | 70                    | Details not provided                                                                                                   | 70 - Male                                                                                                              | Sexual assault, murder, unlawful wounding, attempt to murder, road accident offence                                                                                     | Nil                                                     |
| 4.       | Azerbaijan        | 5                     | 2 - Gujarat 2 - Punjab 1 - Others                                                                                      | 5 - Male                                                                                                               | Illegally crossing the border                                                                                                                                           | Nil                                                     |
| 5.       | Bahrain           | 77                    | Details not provided                                                                                                   | 74 - Male 3 - Female                                                                                                   | Theft, accepting bribes, financial fraud, consumption of alcoholic drinks                                                                                               | Details not provided                                    |
| 6.       | Belarus           | 8                     | 7 - Punjab 1 - Tamil Nadu                                                                                              | 7 - Male 1 - Female                                                                                                    | Illegally crossing the border                                                                                                                                           | Nil                                                     |
| 7.       | Bangladesh        | 19                    | 11-West Bengal 2- Tripura 2- Manipur 2 -Meghalaya 1 - Assam 1 - Delhi                                                  | 17 - Male 2 - Female                                                                                                   | Narcotic act, arms act, murder case, explosive act and control of entry                                                                                                 | Details not provided                                    |
| 8.       | Belgium           | 19                    | Details not provided                                                                                                   | Details not provided                                                                                                   | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                    | Details not provided                                    |
| 9.       | Bhutan            | 50                    | 36-West Bengal 12 - Assam 1 - Tamil Nadu 1 - Bihar                                                                     | 49 - Male 1 - Female                                                                                                   | Drugs, burglary, robbery, counterfeiting and auto stripping                                                                                                             |                                                         |
| 10.      | Brunei            | 1                     | Details not provided                                                                                                   | Details not provided                                                                                                   | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                    | Nil                                                     |
| 11.      | Cambodia          | 6                     | 1 - J&K 1-Punjab 1-Kerala 2- Gujarat 1- Tamil Nadu                                                                     | 6 - Male                                                                                                               | Drug trafficking                                                                                                                                                        | Details not provided                                    |
| 12.      | Canada            | 70                    | 23 - Male 2 - Female 45 - Others                                                                                       | Details not provided                                                                                                   | First degree Murder, Second degree murder, Assault with weapon, Man Slaughter, Traffic in schedule I/II substance, sexual interference and laundering precedes of crime | Details not provided                                    |

|   13. | China          |   32 | 6 - Punjab 4 - Manipur 2-Uttar Pradesh 7 - West Bengal 1 - Kerala 1 - Karnataka 4 - Delhi 2 - Maharashtra 1 - Gujarat 4 - Others   | 28 - Male 4 - Female   | Drugs smuggling, intentional injury causing death, smuggling import and export of goods, illegal cross border, embezzlement, rape, fake documentation and theft   | Details not provided   |
|-------|----------------|------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|
|    14 | Colombia       |    5 | 1 - Assam 3 - Punjab, 1 - Gujarat                                                                                                  | 5 - Male               | Possession of fake documents and drug trafficking                                                                                                                 | Details not provided   |
|    15 | Cote D' Ivoire |    2 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | 2 - Male               | Submission of fake documents to the bank for loan to their company                                                                                                | Details not provided   |
|    16 | Cuba           |    1 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | 1 - Male               | Corruption of minors and drug trafficking                                                                                                                         | Details not provided   |
|    17 | Cyprus         |    6 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | 5 - Male 1 - Female    | Premeditated murder, circulation of false document and illegal employment                                                                                         | Details not provided   |
|    18 | Denmark        |    6 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | 5 - Male 1- Female     | Murder and Illegal stay                                                                                                                                           | 17                     |
|    19 | Egypt          |    3 | 1 - Gujarat 2 - Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                     | 3 - Male               | Drug Trafficking                                                                                                                                                  | Details not provided   |
|    20 | Ethiopia       |    5 | 2 - Rajasthan - Tamil Nadu 1 - Kerala                                                                                              | 5 - Female             | Details not provided                                                                                                                                              | Details not provided   |
|    21 | Djibouti       |    1 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | Details not provided   | Details not provided                                                                                                                                              | Details not provided   |
|    22 | Fiji           |    1 | 1 - Female                                                                                                                         | 1 - Punjab             | Drug related offence                                                                                                                                              | 2                      |
|    23 | Finland        |    1 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | Details not provided   | Details not provided                                                                                                                                              | Details not provided   |
|    24 | France         |   36 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | Details not provided   | Details not provided                                                                                                                                              | Details not provided   |
|    25 | Georgia        |    9 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | 9 - Male               | Details not provided                                                                                                                                              | Details not provided   |
|    26 | Germany        |   51 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | Details not provided   | Details not provided                                                                                                                                              | Details not provided   |
|    27 | Ghana          |    3 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | Details not provided   | Details not provided                                                                                                                                              | Details not provided   |
|    28 | Greece         |   17 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | Details not provided   | Details not provided                                                                                                                                              | Details not provided   |
|    29 | Guatemala      |    3 | Details not provided                                                                                                               | 3 - Male               | Details not provided                                                                                                                                              | Details not provided   |

|   30. | Indonesia           |   26 | 3 - Manipur 8 - Tamil Nadu 3 - Maharashtra 1-Uttar Pradesh 1 - Karnataka 2 - Delhi 3 - Haryana 2 - Punjab 1- Goa 2 - Others   | 24 - Male 2 - Female   | Immigration violation, misuse of stay permit, drug trafficking and fake documents              | Details not provided   |
|-------|---------------------|------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|
|    31 | Iran                |   17 | 4 - Gujarat 1 - J&K 1 - Bihar 1 - Jharkhand 1-Uttar Pradesh 9 - Others                                                        | 17 - Male              | Diesel smuggling, illegal entry into Iranian waters                                            | Details not provided   |
|    32 | Iraq                |   11 | 8 - Telangana, Bihar and Chhattisgarh 3 - Kolkata                                                                             | 11 - Male              | Forged travel documents                                                                        | 17                     |
|    33 | Ireland             |    3 | Details not provided                                                                                                          | Details not provided   | Details not provided                                                                           | Details not provided   |
|    34 | Israel              |    7 | 5 - Kerala 1-Maharashtra 1 - Karnataka                                                                                        | Details not provided   | Details not provided                                                                           | Details not provided   |
|    35 | Italy               |   79 | 78 - Male 1 - Female                                                                                                          | Details not provided   | Details not provided                                                                           | Details not provided   |
|    36 | Japan               |    7 | 2 - Kerala 1 - Punjab 1 - Uttarakhand 1-Uttar Pradesh 1 - Maharashtra 1 - Others                                              | Details not provided   | Drug control violation, Murder, Violation of the gun sword law and extortion                   | Details not provided   |
|    37 | Jordan              |   16 | Details not provided                                                                                                          | Details not provided   | Theft and Murder                                                                               | Details not provided   |
|    38 | Korea (Republic of) |    2 | 1 - West Bengal 1 - Kerala                                                                                                    | 2 - Male               | Violation of drug law and unfair competition prevention and trade secret protection act of ROK | 2                      |
|    39 | Kuwait              |  506 | Details not provided                                                                                                          | 490 - Male 16 - Female | Murder and drug charges                                                                        | Details not provided   |
|    40 | Kyrgyzstan          |    1 | 1 - J&K                                                                                                                       | 1 - Male               | Details not provided                                                                           | Nil                    |
|    41 | Lao PDR             |    2 | 2 - Kerala                                                                                                                    | 2 - Male               | Monetary cheating                                                                              | Details not provided   |
|    42 | Libya               |    3 | Details not provided                                                                                                          | Details not provided   | Fake currency case                                                                             | Details not provided   |
|    43 | Malaysia            |  341 | Details not provided                                                                                                          | 321 - Male 20 - Female | Visa violation, drug related, human trafficking                                                | Details not provided   |
|    44 | Maldives            |   14 | 8 - Kerala 6- Tamil Nadu                                                                                                      | 14 - Male              | Details not provided                                                                           | Nil                    |

|   45. | Mauritius   |   6 | 3 - Maharashtra 1 - Andhra Pradesh 1 - Punjab 1 - Others                                                                                                                                      | 6 - Male              | Drug Trafficking                                                                                                             | 1                    |
|-------|-------------|-----|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|
|    46 | Mexico      |   2 | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                                          | Details not provided  | Murder and human trafficking                                                                                                 | Details not provided |
|    47 | Mozambique  |   2 | 2 - Kerala                                                                                                                                                                                    | 2 - Male              | Convicted for kidnapping                                                                                                     | NA                   |
|    48 | Myanmar     |  40 | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                                          | Details not provided  | Myanmar Immigration Act offence                                                                                              | Details not provided |
|    49 | Nepal       | 859 | NA                                                                                                                                                                                            | NA                    | NA                                                                                                                           | NA                   |
|    50 | Netherlands |   1 | 1 - Haryana                                                                                                                                                                                   | Murder                | Details not provided                                                                                                         | Details not provided |
|    51 | New Zealand |  14 | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                                          | Details not provided  | Details not provided                                                                                                         | Details not provided |
|    52 | Oman        |  60 | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                                          | Details not provided  | Murder, theft, bribery, drug dealing and alcohol trading                                                                     | Details not provided |
|    53 | Pakistan    | 311 | 156 - Gujarat 12 - Daman& Diu 21 -Uttar Pradesh 4 - Bihar 2 - Andhra Pradesh 3 - Maharashtra 2 - Punjab 7- J&K 2 -Rajasthan 4 - Madhya Pradesh 4- Delhi 7 - West Bengal 1- Odisha 93 - Others | 306 - Male 5 - Female | Details not provided                                                                                                         | 99                   |
|    54 | Panama      |   3 | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                                          | 3 - Male              | Drug trafficking, Money laundering, Human trafficking, Offence of organized crime                                            | Details not provided |
|    55 | Peru        |   1 | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                                          | Details not provided  | Details not provided                                                                                                         | Details not provided |
|    56 | Philippines |  17 | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                                          | 17 - Male             | Kidnapping for ransom, anti trafficking, drug related offence, attempted murder, acquisition of explosive fire arms, robbery | Details not provided |
|    57 | Portugal    |   6 | Details not provided                                                                                                                                                                          | 6 - Male              | Details not provided                                                                                                         | Details not provided |

| 58.   | Qatar                    |   196 | Details not provided                       | 192 - Male 4 - Female           | Drug cases, cheque bounce, murder case, sex related crimes, theft cases, forgery and fraud, driving traffic violations   | Details not provided   |
|-------|--------------------------|-------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|
| 59.   | Russian Federation       |    11 | Details not provided                       | 11 - Male                       | Fraud, murder, sexual offence                                                                                            | Nil                    |
| 60.   | Saudi Arabia             |  2181 | Details not provided                       | 2140 - Male 41 - Female         | Details not provided                                                                                                     | 201                    |
| 61.   | Senegal                  |     1 | Details not provided                       | Details not provided            | Details not provided                                                                                                     | Details not provided   |
| 62.   | Singapore                |   115 | Details not provided                       | 111- Male 4 - Female            | Causing death, sexual offences, commercial crimes, customs offence, drug related offence, immigration offences           | Details not provided   |
| 63.   | Slovak Republic          |     1 | 1 - Punjab                                 | 1 - Male                        | Human trafficking                                                                                                        | Details not provided   |
| 64.   | South Africa             |     5 | 1 - Kerala 4 - Gujarat                     | 5 - Male                        | Details not provided                                                                                                     | Nil                    |
| 65.   | Spain                    |    36 | Details not provided                       | 36 - Male                       | Details not provided                                                                                                     | Details not provided   |
| 66.   | Sri Lanka                |    30 | 1 - Tamil Nadu 1 - Maharashtra 27 - Others | 2 - Male 28 - NA                | Drug smuggling charges, Sex offense and Visa violation charges                                                           | NA                     |
| 67.   | Sudan                    |     1 | 1 - Kerala                                 | 1 - Male                        | Details not provided                                                                                                     | Details not provided   |
| 68.   | Tanzania                 |     1 | 1 - Tamil Nadu                             | 1- Male                         | Murder charge                                                                                                            | Nil                    |
| 69.   | Thailand                 |    47 | 2-Andhra Pradesh 45-Others                 | 44 -Male 3 -Female              | Stealing                                                                                                                 | Details not provided   |
| 70.   | Trinidad& Tobago         |     1 | 1 - Kerala                                 | 1 - Male                        | Travelling on forged documents                                                                                           | Details not provided   |
| 71.   | Turkey                   |     3 | 1 - Tamil Nadu 2- Punjab                   | 3 - Male                        | Terrorism charges, Kidnapping and forgery                                                                                | Nil                    |
| 72.   | Uganda                   |     1 | 1 - Maharashtra                            | 1 - Male                        | Embezzlement of corporate funds                                                                                          | Details not provided   |
| 73.   | United Arab Emirates     |  1628 | Details not provided                       | 322 - Male 6 - Female 1300 - NA | Details not provided                                                                                                     | 21                     |
| 74.   | United Kingdom           |   376 | Details not provided                       | Details not provided            | Details not provided                                                                                                     | Details not provided   |
| 75.   | Ukraine                  |     1 | Details not provided                       | Details not provided            | Details not provided                                                                                                     | Details not provided   |
| 76.   | United States of America |   343 | Details not provided                       | Details not provided            | Criminal records, fraud case,                                                                                            | Details not provided   |
| 77.   | Uzbekistan               |     1 | Details not provided                       | 1 - Male                        | Financial fraud                                                                                                          | Details not provided   |
| 78.   | Vietnam                  |     1 | 1 - Haryana                                | 1 - Male                        | Financial fraud                                                                                                          | Details not provided   |
|       | Total                    |  7850 |                                            |                                 |                                                                                                                          | 360                    |