Reports on Nimisha Priya case inaccurate, avoid speculations: Govt sources

New Delhi: Claims being made by a Kerala-based cleric about the case of Nimisha Priya, an Indian on death row in Yemen, are incorrect and any speculation on this sensitive matter should be avoided, government sources said on Wednesday.

Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar, the Grand Mufti of India, claimed on Monday that Priya's death sentence has been overturned.

The sources said they have seen reports making claims regarding the case of Priya and that these are incorrect.

"We urge people to avoid misinformation and speculation on the sensitive matter," one of the sources said.

The clarification came after the Grand Mufti reportedly said the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of External Affairs are aware of his efforts in the Priya case.

The 38-year-old Indian national's execution was scheduled for July 16, but it was postponed following the intervention of Indian officials. She is presently lodged in a jail in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital city that is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.

The nurse, hailing from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, has been found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen in July 2017. In 2020, a Yemeni court handed her the death sentence and the country's Supreme Judicial Council dismissed her appeal in November 2023.

The MEA on July 17 said it is in touch with Yemeni authorities as well as certain friendly nations as part of efforts to reach a "mutually agreeable solution" in the case relating to Priya.

India does not have any diplomatic presence in Yemen and diplomats in the Indian mission in Saudi Arabia were looking into the matter, it is learnt.