British Prime Minister David Cameron has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the immediate release of six British sailors who were arrested in 2013 along with 29 other crew members from a United States-registered vessel >found anchored in Indian waters off the Thoothukudi port in Tamil Nadu with a large quantity of arms and ammunition.
The six Britons identified as John Armstrong Wigton, Nick Dunn Ashington, Ray Tindall Chester, Paul Towers, Nicholas Simpson Catterick and Billy Irving Connel are all ex-military men. They have been detained in Tamil Nadu as their passports have been confiscated by the authorities after the >Supreme Court in July this year ordered a retrial in the case. The Hindu has learnt that before Mr. Modi embarked on his three-day tour to the United Kingdom in November, his office received a letter from the British Prime Minister’s Office.
The letter stated that the family and friends of the six sailors were facing financial hardships as well as immense mental agony, waiting for them to return. It said the British government had taken up the matter with the authorities at various levels and they were hoping to see a solution this time around.
A senior government official said: “We are in the know of this issue and have had several communication with the Tamil Nadu government on this. We are in the process of finding a solution to this.”
After the vessel M.V. Seaman Ohio, owned by >AdvantFort, a company providing anti-sea piracy solutions was found anchored off the Tamil Nadu coast, the ‘Q’ Branch of the State CID registered a case against the crew members.
The High Court of Madras quashed the charges of Arms Act filed by the police, which appealed against it in the apex court, leading to the retrial.
Another government official said they were seeking legal opinion to see how best the interests of both the parties could be served, without compromising the legal situation in the case.
According to an earlier report in The Hindu , the vessel was seen stationed 10.8 nautical miles from the Thoothukudi port on October 11, 2013. The CID case says alarms were set off when an unidentified boat was seen approaching the vessel.
