Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): A group of fishermen including two natives of Kerala and three of Tamil Nadu, were arrested by Iranian police for violating the maritime boundary.
The group had gone fishing from Ajman in United Arab Emirates after crossing the border. The five Indian fishermen, including Saju George from Anchuthengu, Arogyaraj from Mampally, Tennyson, Stanley and Dixon from Mampally Pudumunal Purayat were taken into custody recently. Also the Arab boat owner, Abdul Rahman, was arrested along with the group of fishermen. They had left Ajman for fishing on June 18, sources said.
According to sources, the families of the five fishermen recently received information that they were arrested by Iranian police for border violation. But, the families said that they could not get any information about their current whereabouts or contact them in any manner. The panic-stricken families have now approached the government for help.
The families have submitted a petition to Kerala chief minister seeking government's intervention for rescuing the arrested fishermen. They requested both the Centre and the state government to intervene immediately and bring back the arrested fishermen as soon as possible.
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In a similar incident, three Indian fishermen, including one from Tirunelveli and two from Tuticorin were arrested by Iranian police for crossing Iranian water without valid documents. After hearing about their detention, the families appealed to the central and state governments to bring back the arrested fishermen. They also sent representatives to the Ministry of External Affairs, Tamil Nadu chief minister and the Indian high commissioner in Tehran.
