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Parents of Tech Mahindra employee detained in Qatar say son is ‘breaking down mentally’ under ‘inhuman’ conditions
Amit Gupta's parents alleged that Tech Mahindra is not granting them access to group chairman Anand Mahindra to raise their concerns.
Parents of Amit Gupta, an Indian tech executive detained in Qatar last week, claimed that their son is expressing “suicidal thoughts” as they continue their desperate attempts to get him released, The Indian Express reported.
The Indian Embassy in Qatar is aware of the case and is reportedly providing all possible assistance. Amit Gupta has been detained in connection with an investigation, but charges against him have not been disclosed yet.
‘Inhuman detention’
Amit's father, JP Gupta, said his son was taken into custody on January 1 and has been locked in a room with no human interaction ever since. “They allow him to see the sunlight for 10 minutes a day. It is inhuman,” he told the The Indian Express.
The parents also alleged their pleas to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have not yielded the desired result. JP Gupta claimed to have received an acknowledgement of their letter from the PMO containing a phone number that “does not work".
Tech Mahindra, Amit's employer, had said the company is in touch with his family and provides the necessary support. His father believes that intervention from Anand Mahindra, the group's chairperson, would help Amit's case but alleged that the company has not allowed them to access him.
Pushpa Gupta, Amit's mother, said they are trying to give hope of justice to their son, who she said claimed innocence and is “breaking down mentally” under detention.
She also alleged that Amit was not allowed to eat or sleep for the first 48 hours under custody. “Now, they bring him their local food and he has to survive on that. Every Wednesday, we are allowed to speak to him for five minutes over a voice call during which he only begs with us to get him released,” she told the Indian Express.
‘Indians taken for granted’
JP Gupta said his son's detention could be a case of mistaken identity. He alleged that Amit was detained without informing his employer and not allowed access to his legal counsel. “We feel that Indians, despite making the workforce in such countries, are taken for granted,” he noted.
Amit's parents urged the Qatari authorities to be transparent on charges against their son and expressed readiness to follow their legal process and cooperate with their investigation.
