Bengaluru: Revenue minister R V Deshpande has written a letter to Sushma Swaraj, Union External Affairs minister, seeking her intervention to release the 18 fishermen from the Uttara Kannada district who are undergoing imprisonment in Iran. These fishermen were arrested by the Iranian Navy on July 27.
In his letter to Sushma Swaraj, RV Deshpande informed that all these 18 fishermen are from Kumta and Bhatkal of the Uttara Kannada district. “They were working in a fisheries company of Dubai and by mistake, their ship entered Iranian boundary. They were detained and kept in the Iranian prison and no efforts were done from any of the government agencies for their early release,” he informed in the letter.
Deshpande provided the passport number of all the fishermen with the letter. Meanwhile, external affairs ministry sources assured all possible action for the release of the Karnataka fishermen from Iran prisons.
It is said that a Dubai national was taken to prison by the Iranian authorities and Indian fishermen have been kept under detention in the fishing vessel. The fishermen from Uttara Kannada had sent whatsapp messages to their family members seeking their help.
