New Delhi: Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan has said that efforts are on to ensure the release of Indian nurses arrested in Kuwait. He further said that the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy are in talks with the authorities.
"Currently, there is no situation to be concerned about. Those who have babies have been given permission to see and breastfeed them,” the Minister said. There are five nursing mothers among the arrested Keralites.
There are 34 Indians among the 60 people who were caught on charges of working in violation of the residency laws, he added. Out of these 19 nurses are Keralites.
They were detained during a raid by the Kuwait Human Resources Committee officials on a private clinic at Maliya in Kuwait City. According to the Kuwait Home Ministry, the nurses did not have relevant licences or required qualifications to work in Kuwait.
However, the family members of the Keralite nurses claimed that they were qualified and had been working there with proper work visas and sponsorships.
Several of them have been working there for the past three to 10 years in the same clinic. People from Philippines, Egypt and Iran have also been caught by the authorities on similar charges.
The hospital is owned by an Iranian national and according to the relatives of the nurses, a dispute between the owner and the sponsor had led to the raid and arrest.
Kin of the arrested Malayali nurses have sought the intervention of the Union Government and the Indian Embassy for the early release of the nurses.
