‘Feeling suicidal, begging for his release’: Tech Mahindra executive Amit Gupta detained in Qatar, parents juggle between worry, hope in Vadodara
Amit, in his 40s, is believed to be in detention since January this year with authorities in Qatar investigating him in connection with an alleged data theft case.
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The charges against Amit Gupta, said to be a senior employee of Indian IT firm Tech Mahindra, are not immediately known. (Credit: LinkedIn/Amit Gupta)Until a few months ago, receiving a daily call from their Qatar-based son was almost a given for the Gupta couple in Vadodara. But now, a weekly call lasting a few minutes every Wednesday is the only link retired ONGC employee JP Gupta and his wife Pushpa have with their son Amit Gupta — the Region Head of Tech Mahindra for Qatar and Kuwait.
Amit, in his 40s, is in detention since January this year with authorities in Qatar yet to formally communicate what are the charges for which he is under the ‘investigating’ and confinement. His parents say Amit is expressing “suicidal thoughts” during the phone calls, begging with them to get him released. Each week, the elderly couple has to brace themselves to “console and give hope” to their son who is yet to even get access to his counsel.
The Guptas say they have written to the Ministry of External Affairs as well as the Prime Ministers’ Office but their efforts have “yielded no result” so far.
Speaking to The Indian Express, J P Gupta says, “It was on January 1 that my son was taken into ‘custody’ by the Qatari authorities. Till date, neither has he been informed about the charges against him nor is there a formal case that we are aware of. He has been locked in a room since that day, with no human interaction. They allow him to see the sunlight for 10 minutes a day … It is inhuman. We have received an acknowledgment to our letter written to the PMO but the phone number provided on that reply does not work… We got no response from (External Affairs Minister) S Jaishankar’s office.”
On Saturday, the Guptas met Vadodara’s Lok Sabha MP, BJP leader Hemang Joshi, seeking help. Joshi said he would take up the matter with the Centre and meet officials in Qatar Embassy on Wednesday.
Pushpa Gupta said Amit moved to Doha in 2013 to work with Tech Mahindra and was elevated to the position of Region Head, reporting to his Dubai-based manager.0
‘Anand Mahindra’s intervention might help’
The parents said although the company has “assured of support”, the top management of Tech Mahindra has “not done everything it can”.
JP Gupta says, “We do feel that if (Chairperson of Mahindra & Mahindra) Anand Mahindra intervenes, it will help Amit’s case… However, the top management of the company has not allowed us any access to Mr Mahindra for us to put forth our grievances and seek help.”
IT services firm Tech Mahindra on Sunday had told a news channel that it was in “close contact” with the family of its employee, adding that ensuring his well being was their top priority.
Pushpa Gupta says her son has been “breaking down mentally”, being locked in a single room. “For the first 48 hours, they did not even allow him to eat or sleep… 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… all that he says over the call is that he has done no wrong and he will take the extreme step… It is anguishing to see him like that. We are trying to give as much hope to him as we can.”
Amit’s wife lives in Noida with their two children and is doing everything in her capacity to pursue the case, say his parents.
Amit’s parents believe that his detention could be a case of mistaken identity. “We do feel that he has been taken into custody while the Qatari authorities are looking into the issue or, maybe, someone else instead of him… They have not even been interrogating him over the last two months but have just held him in confinement,” says JP Gupta.
Some time ago, the Guptas also visited Doha and stayed there for a month to understand the legal proceedings.
However, they said that despite hiring two lawyers in Doha, Amit has not been allowed legal access to his counsel. Says JP Gupta, “The lawyer told us that he needs a power of attorney from Amit, which he had signed on March 6 but the lawyer does not have access to him… The authorities have picked up our son without even informing his company. We feel that Indians, despite making the workforce in such countries, are taken for granted…”
JP Gupta now feels that dreams of living in a foreign land are often fraught with risk. “It is natural for professionals to be attracted to lucrative offers from foreign land… but it is a risk, especially in countries that do not follow democracy. People should be careful,” he says. “Amit, who lived there for 12 years and abides by the law is facing this mental torture… We feel that if he has really done something, they (Qatar authorities) should be transparent and let us know; we will follow the legal process. But right now, without telling him what has gone wrong, they are only torturing our son.
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