India peeved it was misled

The government is studying the detailed interviews of the 12 Mumbaikars detained by the Dutch. During their detention, New Delhi was denied details and information.

Sources said they were “studying” the detailed interviews, conducted by Indian officials both in Amsterdam and Mumbai, of the 12 from Mumbai. The Ministry of External Affairs had yesterday summoned the Dutch Ambassador Eric Niehe to India and expressed its unhappiness over the way the 12 were treated and New Delhi was mislead.

Authoritative sources told DNA today that the interviews of the 12 reveal that their ordeal was much more humiliating than what is known so far. The detained people told Indian officials that they were so frightened that many of them soiled themselves.

On the first day they were not even given proper food, except for some milk. And on the second day, they were given just sandwiches and something to drink, according to officials privy to their interviews.

There is palpable anger among the officials in both security establishment and Ministry of External Affairs as they go through the reports. Adding to that is the frustration over the way Dutch authorities mislead, blanked out and refused to cooperate with their Indian counterparts. 

For the first 48 hours, India was told through informal channels that all the 12 were people of Indian origin but citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Later, after confirming that they were Indian citizens, New Delhi’s request for their passport numbers was not entertained for several hours.

When asked what further action would be taken, a senior official here told DNA, “We will look into the entire report (on their ordeal) and will decide on our future course of action.”