15 Iranian fishermen arrested for illegally entering, fishing in Indian waters
Mangalore: The Coastal Security Police (CSP) of Karnataka have arrested 15 Iranian fishermen under the Maritime Zone of Indian Act, 1981 for illegally entering and fishing in Indian waters.
CSP superintendent of police, R Chethan said that the accused were arrested on Thursday evening, after a complaint was filed by Kuldeep Sharma, deputy commandant and boarding officer, Indian Coast Guard, New Mangaluru. The accused have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody till November 14. An incident of illegal entry of Iranian fishermen into Indian waters was reported when Coast Guard vessel Vikram was patrolling the Indian Coast.
On October 21 at 2.46pm, two fishing vessels Avidhi and Ishan had entered the Indian waters and were found fishing around 165 nautical miles away from Agatti Island in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The Coast Guard officers asked the master of the fishing boat to stop, but he refused to do so and went ahead. That was when the boats were intercepted and the master of the fishing vessel and crew members were asked to produce documents. When they acted irresponsibly, and refused to produce necessary documents, especially permission to carry out fishing in the Indian waters, the boats were taken into custody and towed towards the New Mangaluru Port.
Unfortunately, the Avidhi boat developed technical issues and the boat sank near Agatti. The crew members were shifted to fishing boat Ishan and were brought to the Mangaluru Port by the Indian Coast Guard. The SP said the accused are Iran citizens and were illegally operating in the Indian waters. They had no license and had obstructed the Coast Guard from performing their duty in addition to illegally collecting resources from Indian territory. The accused booked under section 3,7, 10, 15(a), 14, 15 (c) Maritime Zone of Indian Act 1981.