The Government of India is continuously making efforts to address the detention of 129 Indian students, mostly from the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, in the US last week.
"Our Mission and Consulates have visited several detention centres throughout the US to extend consular assistance to detained students. So far, about 30 Indian students have been contacted by our consular officers. Efforts to contact the remaining Indian students are continuing," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.
"We have urged the US side to share full details and regular updates of the students with the Government, to release them from detention at the earliest and not to resort to deportation against their will," it added.
"We are concerned and distressed that so many Indian students have been implicated in this issue regarding Farmington University. We've been very quick off the block in trying to ensure that interests of our students are protected," Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India's Ambassador to the US, told ANI.
"We've either met or are scheduled to meet shortly majority of students under detention. We've had our people go to each and every centre across the country to access our citizens and to ensure students are okay. By Monday, we'll have access to our students," he added.
Since most of the affected are from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society’s (APNRTS) president and CEO also addressed the press meet “over betrayed Telugu Students in USA today”. APNRTS is a government of Andhra Pradesh initiative to unite the Telugu Diaspora worldwide and provide them the right platform to engage with their motherland in ways and means which are symbiotic in nature.
Sources claim that the Indian students are under house arrest with ankle monitors. They have been radio-tagged and asked not to move out of a certain radius.
US authorities have claimed that there are many more arrests to come in the case.