New Delhi ,March 29: New Delhi will extend legal assistance to 17 Indians sentenced to death by a court in Sharjah for killing a Pakistani man. This, according to some reports, could be the highest number of death sentences handed down at one time in the United Arab Emirates.

Minister for overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi, speaking to this newspaper from Kerala where he is currently undergoing medical treatment, said the Indian consulate-general in Dubai had been told to provide all possible help to the 17 men, a majority of whom are believed to be from Punjab.
Mr Ravi said consular officials had sought access to the men, and it is likely to be granted “within a day or two”. The minister, who described the sentencing as “rather shocking”, said all legal avenues were being explored.
A report in the Khaleej Times newspaper in the UAE on Monday said the 17 Indians had been sentenced to death by Sharjah’s shariah court for killing a Pakistani man and injuring three others in 2009 after a dispute over illegal liquor business in the UAE. Judge Yousuf Al Hamadi pronounced the sentence of death after all evidence, including DNA tests, showed they had knifed the Pakistani national to death.
The attack in January 2009 followed a fight over the control of the illegal liquor business in the Al Sajaa area of Sharjah, the report indicated.
The newspaper report said the suspects had attempted to kill three other Pakistani nationals, but they managed to escape and were rushed to a hospital for treatment.
About 50 people were altogether involved in the attack. The 17 Indians who allegedly led the attack were rounded up by the police. The others were let off due to lack of evidence.
Sale of alcohol is completely banned in Sharjah, unlike the other six emirates that make up the UAE — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Umm al Quwain and Ajman.
Age Correspondent