Mumbai couple falsely convicted for carrying drugs in Qatar return home

Mumbai-based couple Oniba and Sharique Qureshi - who were sentenced to 10 years in jail in a drug case in Qatar in 2019 - returned to Mumbai on Thursday with their daughter.

The couple was arrested at Hamad International Airport in July 2019 after Qatari authorities recovered 4.1 kg of hashish in their bag. It later came to light that Sharique's aunt, Tabassum Qureshi, had used them to transport the drugs. The trip had been sponsored by Tabassum, the official said.

At that time, while Sharique was working with a Japanese company, Oniba had learnt that she was pregnant. She delivered a girl, Aayat, in jail February 2020. The couple's family members approached the Indian Government and asked them to help. Following this, the anti-drugs probe agency got in touch with the authorities in Qatar and the family challenged the lower court order convicting the couple. Eventually, the couple was cleared of all charges.

The couple had no knowledge that a family member planted narcotics in their bag without their knowledge.