The Government of India has shared that 86 nationals were either attacked or murdered in different countries in 2023, a significant rise from the data recorded in 2022.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the highest number of attacks on Indians occurred in the United States of America.
The data was shared by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in Parliament while giving his reply to a question raised by Lok Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak.
MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh said that the number of Indians attacked in 2021 was 29 and spiked to 57 in 2022, which was a 96 per cent increase. The year 2023 saw a 50.1 per cent increase from the 2023 figure.
“The safety and security of Indians abroad is one of the foremost priorities for the Government of India. Our Missions and Posts remain vigilant and closely monitor any untoward incident. Such incidents are immediately taken up with the concerned authorities of the host country to ensure that the cases are properly investigated and the perpetrators are punished. These issues are also raised during meetings with Government officials of the countries concerned, including at the highest levels as appropriate,” the MEA quoted the lawmaker as saying.
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The data shared by the Indian government showed that the highest number of attacks were reported from the United States at 12, while Canada, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia accounted for 10 each.
Singh told Parliament that the Centre had established a “24×7 helpline in the Indian Missions/Posts abroad” to assist Indian nationals.
Out of the many cases of Indians killed abroad in 2023, a few have stood out, such as the death of Indian student Jaahnavi Kandula, for the callousness with which her life was treated.
Kandula was crossing the road when she was hit and killed by a speeding police car driven by Seattle Police Department officer Kevin Dave, who was responding to a drug overdose call.
But what was much worse was the behaviour of Seattle PD officer Daniel Auderer, who was part of the accident investigation and joked about the Indian student’s death, saying that her life had “limited value” and that the city of Seattle should just write a cheque for USD 11,000 as compensation. His comments, recorded on bodycam, caused a furore later, and Auderer was fired.
