Indian PM may discuss Polaris case with Megawati
Indian PM may discuss Polaris case with Megawati
Agencies, New Delhi/Jakarta
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is likely to speak to
Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri if the chief
executive of Indian software company Polaris Software Laboratory
Ltd. isn't released shortly, the local Economic Times reported
Wednesday, quoting India's IT and Communications Minister Pramod
Mahajan.
The Jakarta police arrested Polaris chief executive Arun Jain
and vice president Rajiv Malhotra on Saturday on allegations of
fraud by Jakarta-based Bank Artha Graha.
As reported, the Indian executives had flown to Indonesia last
week to try and resolve a commercial dispute with the bank over a
US$1.3 million software development contract.
Bank Artha Graha, which is controlled by a military
foundation, is demanding $10 million in compensation from Polaris
for failure to fulfill its contract.
"This kind of illegal activity against Indian businessmen is
wrong. We will definitely support Arun Jain and the other Polaris
official. To the best of our knowledge, they have not done
anything which deserves this treatment," Mahajan was quoted as
saying.
Meanwhile,Agence France-Presse reported that India's foreign
ministry had summoned the Indonesian ambassador to New Delhi and
said it would "strongly" take up the case.
"We are trying to get them released as quickly as possible,"
it quoted a source at the Indian embassy in Jakarta. The embassy
is offering to guarantee that, if released, the two men will
present themselves as needed by police investigators.
The source also said that Jakarta lawyers representing the two
Indian businessmen were to meet with the police on Wednesday to
seek their release.
The two business executive were still being held and
undergoing questioning at the national police headquarters
detective division, police spokesman Zainuri Lubis said.
He described them as suspects in the case.
It is not the first time Indonesian police have arrested
officials of foreign companies involved in commercial disputes.
But the move is likely to renew concern over the country's
weak legal system, which has partly deterred foreign investors
from returning to Indonesia.
Foreign investment, which has steadily declined during the
past couple of years partly due to legal uncertainty, is crucial
to help the country fully recover from the late 1990s economic
crisis.