New Delhi: The issue of 17 Indians awarded death sentence by a court in Sharjah in a murder case was raised in Lok Sabha Monday, with Congress member Manish Tewari demanding the matter be taken up at the diplomatic level.
Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Tewari asked the government to take up the matter at the diplomatic level with the government in Sharjah.
"On March 30, 17 Indians were sentenced by a Sharjah court for a murder. 16 of them are from Punjab while one is from Haryana....They are poor labourers arrested from their homes where they were sleeping," Tewari said.
He claimed that they were not provided any lawyer to defend themselves.
"Though hearing in the case continued for 15 months nobody from the Indian embassy there went to meet them. There is an atmosphere of fear for Indians living abroad. A message should go out from this House on this issue," Tewari said.
Sharad Yadav (JD-U) also raised the matter of Indians living abroad but his voice was lost in the din as the Speaker adjourned the House for lunch.
The sensitive issue of atrocities against Indians living in other countries has rocked Parliament in the recent past.
Earlier, on the attack against Indians in Australia, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has made a statement in the House.
PTI
First Published: Monday, April 19, 2010, 14:14