Indian techie in Qatar custody for over two months, Embassy ‘in touch’ with authorities

Qatari authorities are learnt to have detained Amit Gupta, who was working for IT firm Tech Mahindra in the country for around 10 years, in early January. His family, based in Vadodara, says that he has been falsely accused of data theft. Gupta has been associated with Tech Mahindra for nearly 12 years.

As per his LinkedIn profile, Gupta has been working as Region Head — Qatar and Kuwait — for Tech Mahinda, heading the company’s enterprise business. Previously, he was the company’s Senior Sales Manager, in-charge of revenue and business development, and has been posted in Doha since July 2013. He has also been a visiting faculty at Alliance Business School in Bangalore earlier. His last social media post was three months ago, when he reposted a post by Tech Mahindra on conducting a technical training in collaboration with Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology.

IT services firm Tech Mahindra on Sunday said it was in “close contact” with the family of its employee who has been allegedly detained in Qatar in connection with an ongoing investigation. “We remain in close contact with the family, providing necessary support to them. We are also actively coordinating with authorities in both countries and adhering to the due process. Ensuring the wellbeing of our colleague is our top priority,” a Tech Mahindra spokesperson was quoted as saying by NDTV in response to their query.

“The Indian Embassy in Qatar is aware of the detention of Amit Gupta, an Indian national, by Qatari authorities in relation to an ongoing investigation. Mission has been in touch with the family, the lawyer representing Gupta and Qatari authorities on a regular basis,” said the Ministry of External Affairs source cited above.

Gupta’s mother, Pushpa Gupta, told reporters in Vadodara that her son had been falsely accused. She also alleged that after being detained on January 1, he was held for 48 hours without food or water. His mother also said she had gone to Doha and was able to meet him for half an hour, and the family is allowed a weekly phone call with him. She also met the Vadodara MP, Hemang Joshi, for help, who assured them that he would take up the matter with the government.

This is the second instance since 2022 of an Indian being detained in Qatar. Previously, eight former Indian Navy personnel were detained in 2022. They were sentenced to death in 2023 but released in February 2024 after their sentences were commuted by a Qatari court and an order from the Emir. While seven of them have returned to India, the eighth is still awaiting his return.