Where Is Actor Celina Jaitly's Detained Brother Major Vikrant? MEA Finally Confirms Consular Access In UAE

In a significant update amid growing concerns over the prolonged detention of retired Indian Army Major Vikrant Kumar Jaitly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has revealed that Indian Embassy and consular officials have secured access to him on four occasions, with the most recent visit occurring in September 2025.

Sources told Republic Media Network, the Indian Embassy in UAE is in contact with Major Vikrant Jaitly's family and they are fully seized of the matter, highlighting ongoing diplomatic efforts to support the former special forces officer, who has been held for over 14 months on unspecified "national security" grounds.

In an emotional interview aired on Tuesday with Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, Celina Jaitly, the actress and sister of the detained major, detailed the family's harrowing experience over the past 14 months.

She described her relentless legal push to secure aid for her brother, who was taken into custody in the UAE in 2024 and remained unaccounted for during the initial eight months of his ordeal. Jaitly recounted approaching the Delhi High Court to demand transparency and assistance from Indian officials regarding his location and condition.

Speaking to Republic, Jaitly emphasised the profound isolation felt by the siblings, noting that their parents had already passed away, leaving them as each other's sole surviving family members.

"We were in the dark for those first eight months," she said, crediting a grievance filed through the government's Madad portal for eventually confirming his transfer to a detention facility in Abu Dhabi.

Her legal representative, advocate Raghav Kacker, elaborated that the major was seized outside the Mall of the Emirates, not by marked law enforcement vehicles, but by unidentified individuals in plain clothes, before authorities acknowledged his detention.

Efforts to launch proceedings in the UAE courts have been hampered by jurisdictional hurdles and a lack of cooperation, he added. Jaitly last communicated with her brother on Raksha Bandhan in August 2024, after which contact abruptly ceased.

It was only late that September, via a call from his wife, that she learned of the September 6 incident: the couple had been shopping when two men in dark attire compelled him into an unmarked black vehicle in the mall's parking area.

Complicating matters further, Kacker noted that the major's wife has since become unresponsive to family inquiries and prior updates from her about his welfare proved unreliable, spurring Jaitly to take independent action.

Portraying her brother as a dedicated patriot and fourth-generation military man, trained at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering before volunteering for elite para special forces, Jaitly voiced deep fears for his physical and psychological state, given his history of mission-related injuries.

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"As a sister, this has been one of the toughest times of my life, the darkest 14 months. And I thought that would happen when my parents died, my son died, but this is at par, if not worse than that. I have a lot of questions. I want him back in his country," she confided, underscoring her limited resources while living in Austria.

Jaitly stressed her adherence to all available channels, from Madad portal submissions to outreach with UAE-based Indian officials, but reiterated her ultimate reliance on New Delhi's intervention.

“I am not Celina Jaitly right now, I am just a soldier's sister. We are each other's only surviving blood relative. I just want to appeal to our government to please bring him back. I respect and honour the government and appeal to them to please bring my soldier back to me. He is all I have.”

In response to the family's petition, the Delhi High Court has mandated the central government to submit a status report within four weeks and appoint a nodal officer to monitor developments. The case is scheduled for a hearing on December 4.