New Delhi: Polaris chief Arun Jain, freed by Indonesian authorities after a week- long detention in that country over alleged charges of deception and fraud, met External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and thanked him for the efforts made by the government in securing his release.

"It was a courtesy call by Jain," Sinha told reporters when details were sought. Jain called on Sinha on January 3.

Sinha had spoken to his Indonesian counterpart pressing for the immediate release of Jain who, along with another colleague Rajiv Malhotra, was held in December 2002 following a complaint lodged by bank Arth Graha with whom their company had a million-dollar contract.

New Delhi had held that such action was not warranted in a commercial dispute. The Indian Embassy in Jakarta gave requisite guarantee to the Indonesian authorities that the two executives would make themselves available whenever required in connection with the case.

The Minister said Indian envoys in Washington, Beijing, Moscow, Islamabad, Colombo, Dhaka and some other places provided vital inputs in dealing with the issue.

PTI