'Cream of navy': Decorated officers face death penalty

One of them was awarded the President's gold medal for excellence when he graduated from the naval academy and later served as an instructor at the prestigious Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) at Wellington in Tamil Nadu. Another was a fighter controller and navigating officer on board aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

- Rahul Singh

A third was conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award four years ago the first from Indian armed forces to be awarded the highest honour for NRIs/Persons of Indian Origin. The seven former Indian Navy officers who were handed down the death penalty by a court in Qatar were outstanding professionals who served the navy and the country well, said Captain DK Sharma, a former navy spokesperson who served with five of them. The eighth man who was awarded the death sentence was a sailor.

"I knew the seven officers and they were brilliant at their jobs. They were the cream of the navy. One was a senior of mine, another was a course-mate and the others were my juniors. The verdict is shocking," said Sharma, who retired in 2019.

The eight men were employees of Al Dahra Global Technologies, a private firm that provided training and other services to Qatar's armed forces and security agencies. They were held on unspecified charges since August 2022.