Mumbai (Maharashtra): Shyam Yenpure, father of Aniket Sham Yenpure, who is among the five Indian sailors stranded in Iran after they were duped in the name of a job abroad, has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs requesting to bring his son back to India.
Speaking to the media, Shyam said, "In 2019, we got in touch with an agent who promised Aniket a job in vessels. We spent a huge amount on this job and he was later recruited as a sailor there. He went to Iran to work in the Merchant Navy in 2019. Last year, a heroin consignment was recovered from his ship and Iran authorities seized the boat and jailed them."
"My child with his four other colleagues, who were innocent, spent more than 400 days in jail. They were found innocent they were released by the orders of the local court. We were unaware about all this we came to know when they were released from the jail," Aniket's father said.
Shyam further said that Aniket called him and informed him about his condition a few months ago.
Aniket said his passport is with the Iran government and without that he cannot come to India, Shyam said. "I spent all my money on his education. After my wife's death, I have sold all her gold ornaments to bring him back. My financial condition is very bad; I deliver door-to-door milk. Hence I wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs and have requested them to please make efforts and bring my son back to India," he added.
Five Indian sailors stranded in Iran have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help them get back to India and act against agents who duped them in the name of giving employment abroad, informed the Indian World Forum on Monday. The stranded Indian nationals are Aniket Sham Yenpure (29), Mandar Milind Worlikar (26), both from Maharashtra; Naveen Singh (26) from Uttarakhand, Pranav Kumar (22) from Bihar, and Thamizhselvan Rengasamy (30) from Tamil Nadu.
Read: Indian sailors trapped in Iran's Abbas port
In a video message, the seafarers said that they were arrested from the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian authorities on February 21 last year allegedly for smuggling of drugs. "We had been in jail almost 400 days in a fraud case. Despite being released on March 9, Iranian authorities have not given our passports and documents. We are facing difficulties," one of the men said in the video message.
"We are in very bad condition here. These agents duped us and send us. I request to the Indian government to act against them so that no one else will suffer what we are suffering here," they added. The men further said that the captain of the vessel has testified before courts and the investigators repeatedly that he had masterminded the plot to smuggle narcotics and the five Indian seafarers had no role in it.
The sailors, including their families, have made repeated requests to the concerned authorities to provide appropriate assistance. However, their appeals have not been examined and considered in detail.
On March 8, 2021, the local court in Chabahar had found them innocent, and ordered their immediate release.
The sailors have also been threatened with dire consequences by their recruitment and placement services agents including their partners for lodging any complaint against them with competent authorities, the statement further said.
ANI
