New Delhi: A total of 172 Indians were attacked or murdered abroad between 2021 and 2023, with most cases in Saudi Arabia, followed by the US, the Ministry of External Affairs said Friday.
The number of such cases increased from 29 in 2021 to 86 in 2023, Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh told the Rajya Sabha.
In response to a question, Singh said, “Our missions and posts remain vigilant and closely monitor any untoward incident. Such incidents are immediately taken up with the concerned authorities of the host country to ensure the cases are properly investigated and the perpetrators punished.”
There have been attacks on Indians in 37 countries, with 25 incidents reported in Saudi Arabia, followed by 22 in the US. In 2021, there were no attacks reported in the US, but this rose to 10 in 2022 and 12 in 2023.
In Saudi Arabia, there were nine cases in 2021, followed by six in 2022 and 10 in 2023. The Philippines reported the third most number of attacks or murders of Indians—16 during the three-year period.
Canada and the United Arab Emirates have each seen 14 such cases in the last three years, with the North American country witnessing 10 in 2023 alone.
Maldives, New Zealand, Oman, Sudan, Poland, Zambia, Spain, Malta, France, Germany, Italy, Kuwait and the UK are some other countries where Indians have been attacked.
Singh added that the MEA did not have any information on whether the culprits in these cases had been apprehended or sentenced.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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