Kuwait to Mumbai: Shipped to hell and forgotten

The double standards of Indian law enforcement agencies was on full display after they arrested three Tamil Nadubased seamen who had left Kuwait in a fishing boat to escape the hazardous international maritime environment and reached Mumbai to reunite with their families The agencies had put in zero effort to end the serious humanitarian crisis faced by stranded seafarers The three seafarers survived only on bread during their desperate 10day voyage to Mumbai from Kuwait where they were subjected to brutal assault leaving terrible injury marks on their bodies midday speaks to the families of other seafarers still stuck in other countriesAvishkar Jagtap and Nivritti BagulThe men were not even paid for the work they had already done Hundreds of Indian seafarers like them are still stuck in countries like Iran Malaysia Dubai or Saudi Arabia because they have been cheated by shipping agents The seafarers who are often trapped by bogus agents have to forcefully surrender their passports and other documents after they board the ship to work in a perilous environment When they raise their voice they are assaulted However law enforcement agencies are hesitant to take action against these bogus agents who make big bucks by pushing these gullible seafarers into slaverymidday spoke to a few seafarers stranded in various countries who said that their lives oscillate between facing bureaucratic obstacles and legal repercussions if they escape An Iranianflag cargo vessel lsquoBaharehrsquo sank off the coast of Kuwait on January 19 Seven seafarers including two from NashikmdashAvishkar Jagtap 20 and Nivritti Bagul 25mdashand five Iranians were onboard the vessel when it sank Only Avishkar and Nivritti survived and managed to escape in a boat Kuwait authorities took them to hospital but later detained themNivritti Bagulrsquos parents who work in a fieldldquoWe have been told that they lost their passports and other vital documents in the mishap Since they do not have relevant documents the authorities have kept them in a jail in Kuwaitrdquo said Avinash a cousin According to Avinash the agent Sahil Pawar fraudulently sent Avishkar and Nivritti to Dubai on December 1 ldquoWe donrsquot know who to contactrdquo he added Both belong to poor farmer families Avinash said he contacted the All India Seafarer Union for help which has been to officials for their immediate releaseldquoThe agent responsible for their travel arrangements is Sahil Pawar from Mumbai It is said that he used fraudulent means to clear immigration at Mumbai airport as no details of their being emigrated through the egov system of the directorate could be found In this connection the intervention of the Indian mission is highly solicited for providing immediate consular access to the Indian seafarers Jagtap and Bagul and for their immediate repatriation Your swift response on the subject will be highly appreciatedrdquo reads a letter written by the Crew Branch of Directorate General of Shipping Mumbai to the Embassy of India in Kuwait on February 1Infant Vijay Vinay Anthonyrsquos wife Monica with their kidsBut the families are desperate as there has been no communication since January 9 ldquoWe donrsquot know under what conditions they have been livinghellip whether they are being given food or sleeping properly or subjected to physical assaultrdquo Avinash said ldquoI wonrsquot mind if my cousin reaches Mumbai like the three seafarers who reached Gateway of India We can fight a legal battle here in Indiardquo he addedThe working president of All India Seafarers Union Abhijit Sangle told midday ldquoThis has been the case with Indian seafarers for many years The future of seafarers is in jeopardy because of some shipping agents Indian seafarers are sent to other countries on fake immigration and fake company documents and then forced to live there with harassment and lack of foodrdquoAccording to Sangle he has requested the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to take the initiative to help stranded Indian seafarers ldquoIf any seafarer escapes to India on his own initiative he is thrown into jail for violating the laws of Indiardquo Sangle added Tamil Nadubased seafarersmdashNitso Ditto 31 Infant Vijay Vinay Anthony 29 and J Sahayanta Anish 29mdash reached Gateway of India after they were subjected to mental as well as physical harassment in Kuwait The trio planned and started their voyage and reached Mumbai where the Colaba police placed them under arrest under relevant sections of the Passport Entry into India Rules 1950Avishkar Jagtaprsquos parents displaying his photographSpeaking to midday Anthonyrsquos wife Monica said ldquoWhen my husband said he would complain to the Kuwait embassy about the harassment they were assaulted with iron rods leading to severe injuries Their passports were seized and they were not allowed the move anywhere In the last two years my husband sent us just Rs 20000rdquo Monica claimed that she received a call from the Mumbai police informing her that her husband reached Mumbai and was at the Colaba police station ldquoI spoke with my husband who asked for help to get out from Mumbai No one is ready to help us After two years of ordeal now they have been arrested by the police We are begging the government for helprdquo said Monica who stays with her two kids in a tribal area near the sea in KanyakumariHow the seamen got trappedMonica said that two years ago a person named Madan told them about a job in Kuwait ldquoOur livelihood is dependent on fishing and we hardly earn on a daily basis Madan assured my husband of a fishing job in Kuwait We mortgaged our gold and took a loan It cost almost R1 lakh for the visa ticket and other expenses to reach Kuwait where he was harassed and not paid I started working as a house help to run the household We are the victims and no one is ready to help us There are many others who are still stuck thererdquoAdvocate SpeakldquoThe three were produced in court on Wednesday and remanded to police custody for three daysrdquo said advocate Sunil Pandey who appeared for the seafarers in the Mumbai killa court ldquoTheir passports were seized they were tortured harassed and assaulted with rods and other weapons They travelled for almost 10 days by surviving on just bread How can the police register a case against them before verifying the factsrdquoPandey further claimed that some other people had been stuck in Kuwait for eight years ldquoNo help is provided to them Is the embassy hand in glove with the oppressors The embassy should look into the scam wherein lakhs of Indians are being held hostage and need help on an emergency basisrdquo he addedUndetected till Mumbai coastThe boat carrying the three seafarers reach Mumbairsquos coastal limits without permission raising questions over coastal security after the 2611 attack According to the police at 730 am on Tuesday the boat Sumaram Chaitrali while conducting routine marine patrol from Gateway of India to the Light House area noticed a boat of a different make moving suspiciously in front of Sassoon Dock in the Sunk Rock areaThe Mumbai police team stopped the boat and discovered that it was from Kuwait and the name of the boat was Abdula Sharif 1 ldquoThere were 3 persons in the boat all from Tamil Nadu and into fishing Since the boat had entered Indian waters without a license and it was within the limits of the Colaba police station they were handed over to the Colaba police Further investigation regarding the boat is underwayrdquo said a police officerAs the coastal area comes under Yellow Gate they started the investigation and found that the three were Indian citizens from Tamil Nadu ldquoThey were sent to work in Kuwait but were not paid by the boat owner They said that they were also beaten up by the boat owner When they demanded their passports be returned the boat owner threatened to kill them They decided to take a boat and come to Indiardquo said an officer The boat Abdula Sharif 1 left Kuwait on January 28 and reached Mumbai on Tuesday Now questions are being raised on coastal security as if a fishing boat can reach from Kuwait to Mumbai the sea route may still be an easy way for terrorists to enter