Actress Celina Jaitly has been fighting to bring her brother back from the Middle East. Reportedly, Jaitly`s brother, Maj. (Rtd.) Vikrant Kumar Jaitly, has been detained in the UAE since September 2024. Celina recently penned a post expressing her fears as her brother remains incommunicado. She expressed her anguish at not being able to hear her brother`s voice or see him. She also appealed to the government to bring back the country`s soldier safely at the earliest.
Celina pens heart-wrenching note as she fights for her brother
On Sunday, Celina took to her Instagram handle to share a throwback picture with her brother. In the picture, Vikrant can be seen in an army uniform. Sharing the picture, she wrote, “From the battlefield to a cell, the unspoken pain of an Indian soldier, 444 days without my brother! It’s been 1 year, 2 months, 17 days, 443 days in total, 10,632 hours, 637,920 minutes… since my brother, Major Vikrant Kumar Jaitly (Retd), was taken. Since he was first abducted, held incommunicado for eight long months, then kept in detention somewhere in the Middle East, my life has been a countdown of fear, hope and unbearable silence. I am waiting to hear his voice, I am waiting to see his face, I dread what they have done to him. I dread it because only I know who he was when he was whole, and I dread it because I know what he managed to communicate in that one final call… a call made to the only number he could still remember. A call carrying more pain than words. A call carrying more truth than the world is ready to face.”
She further added, “I have more questions than answers, so much terror in every second that passes. He suffers from many injuries from his line of duty. He has given his youth, his strength, his mind, his life to Bharat. He has lived and bled for the flag. As #Bharat rises as a global force, our soldiers and veterans are becoming easy targets abroad. This is not just personal anymore — this pattern of picking up our soldiers and veterans abroad… is this now jeopardising our own national security instead? We must ask this question. We must demand answers. We must not turn away. We need the same decisive action that was taken in Qatar. I am putting my faith, my life and my hope in our government… that they will safely bring their soldier back. The same action that brought home our naval veterans. Our soldier deserves no less. No Indian soldier deserves less. Bring our soldier back.”
I have lost everything: Celina
Celina also recalled the words of her father as she appealed to people not to let the momentum die. “Do not let a man who gave everything to this nation be abandoned in silence. We must not forget our veterans, we must not let this happen to them — not now, not ever. As my late father, Col. VK Jaitly (SM), always said, ‘If you want to honour a soldier, be an Indian worth dying for.’ BHAI I HAVE LOST EVERYTHING FINDING YOU. I will NOT stop, I will NOT give up till he is back on the soil of his Bharat, the country he gave up all for!! Kalika Mata Ki Jai,” wrote Celina.
Delhi Court intervenes
Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court stepped in to assist the actress in her efforts to free her brother. The court directed the Union of India to ensure that Celina’s brother receives effective legal representation and that his family is kept informed about his condition and legal status.
Celina’s plea was heard by Justice Sachin Datta, who issued a notice to the Ministry of External Affairs and asked officials to appoint a nodal officer to coordinate communication between the family and authorities in the UAE. Celina appeared before the court on November 3 and claimed that she has not been able to speak to her brother since his detention on September 6, 2024, stating that the family has had only limited consular contact since then.
Celina`s family not allowed to contact her brother
According to the petition, Major Jaitly has been in the UAE since 2016, working with a trading and risk-management firm. It is not clear under what circumstances he was taken into custody. Celina’s counsel argued that his detention without proper access to legal representation or regular communication violates his basic human rights and international diplomatic norms.
The Delhi High Court has scheduled the next hearing for December 4, 2025, and has asked the government to file a detailed status report by then.
