Three individuals from Tamil Nadu have been arrested by Mumbai police for unlawfully entering India on a Kuwaiti boat, raising red flags regarding potential maritime security breaches.
The three, identified as Nitso Ditto (31), Vijay Vinay Anthony (29), and J Sahayatta Anish (29), were on Wednesday sent to police remand till February 10 by a metropolitan magistrate's court.
The police requested for custody to probe the trio's travel route, potential criminal activities in international territory, and any threats to national and global security.
Although police maintain that no immediate evidence of wrongdoing was found onboard the vessel, the circumstances raised red flags regarding potential maritime security breaches.
The trio's lawyer, Sunil Pandey, asserted their innocence, stating they had fled from their employer in Kuwait who had taken away their passports and mistreated them.
The suspects, reportedly fishermen from Tamil Nadu, claimed they had sailed from Kuwait to India via Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and Pakistan, eventually arriving in Mumbai after intending to return to their home state.
While two of the accused - Anthony and Anish -- belong to the coastal town of Kanyakumari, Ditto hails from Ramnathpuram, 250kms from Kanyakumari.
According to the police, the three have claimed that they had been working in Kuwait for two years under harsh conditions, prompting them to escape and enter India illegally.
Their passports had been confiscated by their employer, and they alleged irregular payment of wages and physical assault.
The boat, upon inspection, revealed no signs of explosive materials and police have recovered a GPS device from the vessel to trace the route taken by the three to reach Mumbai.
The suspects were unable to communicate in Marathi or Hindi and spoke in broken English during questioning, police said, adding the probe will continue to ascertain the full details surrounding their entry into the country.
Their families have been informed of the arrests, and their addresses in Tamil Nadu verified.
This incident has raised concerns about potential maritime security breaches, particularly in light of the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks when sea route was used to reach the metropolis and create mayhem.
The case against the trio has been filed under the Passport (Entry into India) Rules for unauthorized entry into the country.
The boat was spotted off the Mumbai coast during patrolling on Tuesday morning, a police official said.
The police arrested them after filing a case under section 3 (a) with penal section 6 (a) of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules for not following the due procedures required for entering India.
The three, after being allegedly ill-treated by their employer, set sail on a fishing boat of their master without permission and escaped from the Gulf country on January 28 and entered the Indian territory illegally.
Lawyer Pandey later said they wanted to go to their home state (Tamil Nadu) but lost their way and reached Mumbai.
The trio had gone to Kuwait from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala two years back through an agent, identified as Captain Madan, for employment, police stated.
They were working as fishermen with one Abdulla Sharheed, who had kept their passports with him. The trio claimed that they were not paid wages regularly and were assaulted.
"The accused persons claim to have complained about the same to a local police station in Kuwait and with the Indian embassy there. However, when they failed to get any response, the trio decided to flee," the police said.
The boat has been checked by a team of the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and no explosive substance has been found.
