Detention of Indians: MEA summons Dutch envoy

NEW DELHI: The government has summoned the Dutch envoy on the issue of the detention of 12 Indians at Schiphol, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said here on Friday.
Hours after the Mumbai residents were released by the Dutch authorities; Dutch Ambassador Eric Niehe was called to the foreign office by Secretary West UC Tripathy and conveyed the Indian government's unhappiness over the incident.
Sharma also said that the Indian envoy in Amsterdam had been asked to send a detailed report. Twelve Indian passengers had been detained after a Northwest Airlines flight to Mumbai was escorted back to the Amsterdam airport by Dutch F-16s on an alarm sounded by the crew.
"Our views have been conveyed at the highest level to the Dutch government. Our External Affairs Ministry officials have been in touch with the Dutch government at the highest level. Our Ambassador (in The Hague) was also in touch with them."
The 12 freed Indians have already left for home and would be in Mumbai by Friday night.
Some of the passengers of the Mumbai-bound flight 42, who had been stranded at the Amsterdam airport since Wednesday, landed in Mumbai on Thursday night.
Though the airline has not yet officially confirmed the number, a passenger said that 18 of those stranded had arrived from Amsterdam via Singapore.
The Northwest Airlines flight No 42 with 149 passengers on board was escorted back by Dutch F-16 fighter planes after a couple of passengers "displayed behaviour of concern"
When asked about the incident, Bharat Menon, a passenger who arrived tonight said: "The cabin crew was repeatedly asking the passengers to fasten their seat belts when one of the passengers received a call on his cell phone. The person, who was travelling in Economy Class along with his friends then spoke bit excitedly over the phone.... The behaviour of these men was suspicious and they were handing the cell phones to each other."