Indian authorities are seeking the release of 57 Indian workers following their arrest in two separate incidents of violent protests last year.

Forty Indian workers were detained in Makkah for violent protest against the death of their colleague Harun Rasheed in June. They were sentenced to a two-month jail term.

Though the jail term is over, the workers have not been released because their documentation is expected to take at least one month, sources said.

The process involves Makkah Governorate, Directorate of Prisons and Ministry of Justice.

Most of those detained hail from Bihar while others are from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.

Ali Anwar Ansari, a member of the Indian Parliament, raised the issue with the authorities in New Delhi.

The other case involves 17 Indian workers who were employed by a Chinese contracting firm. The workers have been languishing in jail in Jubail since September last year.

Most of these workers are from Bihar and were arrested after they were involved in violent protest against the death of their colleague Mohammed Fayaz. The workers, who were housed in the company accommodation in Jalmouda area of Jubail, were bundled into vehicles by the company officials under the pretext that their services had been terminated and that they were being repatriated home. However, they were taken straight to jail where their case is still under investigation.

Relatives of the detained workers approached an Indian social worker who informed the Indian Embassy about the issue.