Remained in jail in Dubai for 18 years; five Indian expatriates released, return home

DUBAI: Five Indian expats, who remained in Dubai jail for the last 18 years, were released the other day. All five men- Shivarathri Mallesh, Shivarathri Ravi, Gollem Nampally, Dundugula Laxman, and Shivarathri Hanmanthu- hail from Rajanna Sircilla district of Telangana. After getting released from Dubai, they returned to Hyderabad on Tuesday. They were received by their relatives at the airport.

All five of them were construction workers in Dubai. They were living at the Sonapur Labour Camp. They went to jail in 2005 in connection with the death of a Nepalese security guard.

In 2005, an altercation broke out between the group and the Nepalese security guard. The verbal altercation escalated into physical assault. Unfortunately, the incident resulted in the death of Nepali. Telangana Gulf NRI Cell Convener SV Reddy said that the death was accidental and the group had no intention to kill the Nepali native.

After the investigation, the Dubai court sentenced the accused to 10 years in prison. Following an appeal, the sentence was extended to 25 years. SV Reddy told the media that the accused were released after 18 years of imprisonment through the involvement of social organisations, the Indian Consulate and the Telangana government.