Uncertainty grips family of Indian tech boss detained in Qatar

Every week, JP Gupta's heart sinks when he hears his son cry on the phone.

The grim ritual began in January when Amit Gupta, a senior Indian technology officer in Qatar, was detained on charges that haven't been made public yet.

Almost three months on, his family in India say they still don't know what crime he is accused of.

"He is allowed to speak to us for just five minutes [a week] and all he says is: 'Dad, I have not done anything wrong', and then breaks down," his father says.

Amit Gupta is the country head for Indian technology company Tech Mahindra in Kuwait and Qatar. He moved to Doha, Qatar's capital, for work in 2013.

His father told the BBC that he was "picked up by Qatar state security department officials from a restaurant near his office on 1 January" without being given a reason.

Qatar's interior ministry has not responded to the BBC's questions on why Amit Gupta was detained.

The BBC has approached Tech Mahindra for comment.

A company spokesperson earlier said it was in close contact with the family and 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," the company said.

Tech Mahindra, an Indian software services and consulting company, operates across 90 countries including Qatar and has more than 138,000 employees.

The Indian government hasn't officially commented yet on Amit Gupta's case. But sources in the country's foreign ministry told the BBC that the Indian embassy in Qatar was "closely following the case".

"The mission has been in touch with the family, the lawyer representing Amit Gupta and Qatari authorities on a regular basis," the sources said. "Our embassy continues to provide all possible assistance in the matter.'

Amit Gupta's wife Aakanksha Goyal, however, says the government should do more to secure her husband's release.

She wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office, saying that her husband was "under immense mental pressure/trauma".

"Our frequent appeals to the concerned authorities in Doha have not yet yielded any positive response," she wrote.

The letter was acknowledged on 18 February and referred to India's foreign ministry but nothing has happened since then, Ms Goyal told the BBC.

"We have sought a meeting with Prime Minister Modi and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. Until they intervene, we don't expect anything will happen," she said.

In February, Amit Gupta's parents travelled to Doha and managed to meet him with the help of Indian embassy there.

"When we saw him, he just hugged us and cried. He kept repeating that he had done nothing wrong," his father said, adding that his son hasn't been questioned by investigators in Qatar yet.

"If they have not found anything against him, he should be released," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of Indians live and work in Qatar. This is the second high-profile case of Indians being detained or arrested in Qatar to make headlines since 2022.

Last year, a court in the Gulf country released eight former Indian naval officers who had been sentenced to death. Neither Qatar nor India revealed the charges against the men, who were working for a private firm in Qatar. But media reports said the men were charged with spying for Israel.

The commuting of the death sentences was seen as a diplomatic triumph for Modi, whose administration shares a warm relationship with Qatar. In February, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, paid a state visit to India, accompanied by a high-level delegation. During the visit, the two countries elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership.

While Amit Gupta's family wait anxiously, Ms Goyal says she is finding it hard to answer questions from their children, aged 11 and four.

"My children keep asking me what happened to their father. My son's birthday is in April and he is expecting Amit to be there as usual," she says.