Two Indian nationals were beheaded by authorities in Saudi Arabia for murdering a fellow Indian, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed.
Satwinder Kumar and Harjeet Singh hailing from Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana respectively were executed in Saudi Arabia on February 28 this year. The duo was awarded capital punishment for killing Arif Imamuddin.
The MEA revealed details of the fate of Satwinder Kumar and Harjeet Singh after a petition was filed by Satwinder’s wife Seema Rani.
According to the letter written by MEA, Satwinder and Harjeet were arrested on December 9, 2015, on charges of murdering Imamuddin. According to Saudi authorities, Satwinder and Harjeet killed Imamuddin after a fight over distribution of some money they had looted.
“They were shifted to Riyadh jail for trial and they confessed to their crime. The hearing of their case on May 31, 2017, was attended by an embassy official. At that time, the case file was transferred to an appeals court, with an additional charge of ‘hirabha (highway robbery that also invites capital punishment)’,” according to the MEA communication.
Saudi authorities didn’t inform the Indian embassy in Riyadh about their execution.
“Both were executed on February 28, 201,9 without informing the embassy. Several communications were made to the ministry of foreign affairs, Saudi Arabia, to get the mortal remains but Saudi system does not permit handing over the bodies of those executed to the embassy,” the letter said.
