New Delhi: The Central Government on Tuesday intervened to prevent the transfer of Malayali officer Sanu Jose arrested by Equatorial Guinea to Nigeria.
Sanu Jose, who was among the 16 Indian officers detained by Equatorial Guinea, was arrested by the authorities on Monday .
A native of Kochi, Jose is the Chief Officer of the ship 'MT Heroic Idun'. He is now back in the vessel.
After the arrest, Sanu Jose was shifted to an Equatorial Guinea navy ship. He was to be handed over to the Nigerian navy.
"Relieved that the Foreign Ministry and Indian embassy intervened to secure my release. Will finally be at peace when I'm back home," Jose told Manorama News.
Twenty six people, including 16 Indians have been detained in the ship since mid-August.
15 crew members shifted to detention centre
15 Indians, including 2 Malayalis, were however, shifted to a detention centre in the country.
"We were informed that we would be shifted to a hotel. But they have duped us and locked us in a room," Kollam native Vijith said in a video clip.
Vijith is the brother of Vismaya who took her life following domestic violence at her husband's house last year in June.
The crew in the Norway based ship was detained as they allegedly violated the maritime boundary. The ship was taken into custody by Equatorial Guinea as per the instruction of the Nigerian navy.
The Indian mission in the central African country had informed that it is working closely with the authorities concerned for their release. The arrest took place even as the negotiations were progressing.
In a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim on Monday said the crew of ship 'MT Heroic Idun' included the Indians and they were in detention since mid-August.
On Twitter, the parliamentarian requested Jaishankar to "urgently intervene" in the matter of "illegal detention" of the 16 Indian crew members.
The Indian embassy in that country said on Monday that it has been in regular contact with the crew members over phone.
