By Renu Agal BBC correspondent in Delhi

About 40,000 Indian expatriates are thought to work in Malaysia

The Indian High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur, Veena Sikri, told the BBC that 168 senior Indian IT professionals had been taken in for questioning.

Initially, 270 Indian nationals, most of them IT professionals, had been rounded up, but about 100 were later released.

Ms Sikri said those detained had been taken to a police station after being told their passports and related documents were to be inspected.

She said they were treated discourteously and added that only about 10 people were found to have problems related to their passports and visas.

'Unconditional offers'

The Indian High Commission says it views the matter very seriously, and has taken it up with the Malaysian Government.

Companies of such repute have so far extended unconditional offers for Indian software professionals to work in Malaysia High Commissioner Veena Sikri

Malaysia has a sizeable Indian population working in the software industry.

This is the first time that such an incident has taken place, the High Commission says.

Ms Sikri said that those taken to the police station were all senior officials working for reputable companies in Malaysia.

She said some of them worked for Malaysia's Multiple Media Super Corridor Project.

"Companies of such repute have so far extended unconditional offers for Indian software professionals to work in Malaysia," she said.

'Great interest'

Reports from Kuala Lumpur say eight or nine Indian nationals are still being detained.

Correspondents say the Malaysian police's recent conduct is surprising.

They point out that last September, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad expressed great interest in attracting Indian software professionals.

He also spoke about his desire to expand the Malaysian software industry in India.