Thursday
25th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
10 Indian soldiers have traveled to Kadhdhoo (Laamu atoll) with more than 800 kg of luggage.
The 10 Indian soldiers had traveled to Kadhdhoo on 17 February. The Iskandhar Air Base in Kadhdhoo hosts a helicopter operated by the Indian military. It is likely that the soldiers are present in the Maldives as support personnel for the helicopter. As per leaked agreements that had been signed between the Indian government and the Solih administration, all of these Indian soldiers are exempt from being prosecuted or penalised by Maldivian law.
The names of the soldiers who had traveled to Kahdhdhoo on 17 February are as follows:
1. Ankit Shukla,
2. Suraj Prakash Mishra,
3. Jay Prakash Singh,
4. Sanjay Singh Aithani,
5. Pankaj Singh,
6. Susheel Verma,
7. Swamy Gorli,
8. Chetak,
9. Subhash Cheruvallath,
10. Nilesh Raosaheb Kajale.
Although these 10 individuals had brought a large amount of luggage with them, the Maldivian government do not have the authority to screen any of it; these 10 soldiers are among 30 Indian soldiers who had arrived in the Maldives on 17 February. Some of the soldiers had traveled to Addu City which hosts another Indian helicopter.
A grassroots movement called "India Out" had sprung up in the Maldives as a response to the stationing of Indian soldiers throughout the Maldives. The Solih administration is working to stop the movement. The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party has recently drafted a bill that seeks to jail supporters of the movement.