Over 10,000 Indians Jailed Abroad; One On Death Row In US

NEW DELHI- – Among the 10,574 Indian nationals currently imprisoned across the world, there is one case in the US: Raghunandan Yandamuri  is the only Indian on death row in the country. Yandamuri was sentenced to death in Pennsylvania in 2014 for the 2012 murders of a woman and her infant granddaughter in a failed kidnapping-for-ransom plot. While his execution was scheduled for 2018, a state-wide moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania has indefinitely delayed it.

The data, presented in the Indian Parliament by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, underscores the global scale of incarceration involving Indian citizens. Although the highest number of Indian prisoners is in the United Arab Emirates – 2,773 –  followed by Saudi Arabia and Nepal, the US is among several countries where Indian nationals are facing the harshest penalties.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs noted that 43 Indian citizens face death sentences globally, with the majority in the UAE (21), followed by Saudi Arabia (7), China (4), and others. Besides Yandamuri in the U.S., one Indian national each is on death row in Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, and Yemen.

Due to strict privacy laws in many countries, host governments often withhold detailed information about foreign inmates unless the individual authorizes disclosure. Still, Indian embassies and consulates, including in the U.S., are actively monitoring such cases and providing legal and consular support, parliament was told. Through the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF), financial aid is also offered for legal representation, bail, and repatriation, particularly for underprivileged prisoners.(IANS)