Abductees on board MV Iceberg-I await release

While hostages on board MV Suez received a joyous welcome from loved ones yesterday, families of the six Indian crew members held to ransom on MV Iceberg-I still await assistance from the government

Abductees on board MV Iceberg-I await release

Families rejoiced and celebrated the return of their loved ones on Friday, after Somali pirates released six Indian sailors that they had held captive on board the MV Suez for 10 long months.

Sachin Pandurang Pawsher, an abducted crew member from Kalyan, is welcomed by his family members after his arrival in the city

But a seething, stricken silence reigned in the homes of the six other Indian sailors who are still languishing in captivity, after their vessel MV Iceberg-I was hijacked by Somali pirates fourteen months ago.

Somali pirates abducted the six sailors on board the MV Iceberg on March 29 last year.
u00a0
The distraught families have pleaded with the who's who of the nation, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj, Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, Congress Spokesperson Manish Tewary, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. But all their efforts have gone in vain.

The Indian sailors being held captive aboard the ship are Dheeraj Tiwari from Nashik, Swapnil Jadhav from Satara, Ganesh Mohite from Mumbai, Saji Kumar Purshottam from Kerala, Santosh Kumar Yadav from UP and Jaswinder Singh from Haryana.

"My son and five of his fellow sailors were abducted by Somali pirates four months before the MV Suez abductions transpired. We approached Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.

He initially showed support, but eventually washed his hands of the matter. We pleaded with all the high-ranking ministers and the bureaucrats in Delhi, and approached the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh twice for assistance. He promised to take all the necessary efforts to ensure the release of our children.

We even registered our protests with the Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj. But the entire machinery has failed to live up to its promises," said Purshottam Tiwari, father of abductee Dheeraj, who was the chief officer-in-command on MV Iceberg-I.

Mansingh Mohite, father of another abductee, Ganesh, is a disillusioned man. "I realised in course of this ordeal that politicians only make false promises, just like their speeches prior to elections.u00a0 We have been inspired by the bravery displayed by the parents of abductees on MV Suez, and will take a leaf out of their book."

The stricken family members even knocked on yoga guru Baba Ramdev's door, hoping that he would be able to use his political connections to help them.

But this plan, too, fell through. "We thought that we would get help from the spiritual guru, and approached him. At first, he evaded us, after which a senior functionary at his ashram informed us that this is not within his jurisdiction," said Mohite.

Freedom at last
Cheers greeted the six abductees who were released from the vessel MV Suez last night, after their 10-month-long captivity at the hands of Somali pirates. The released sailors include Sachin Pawshe from Maharastra. All six first landed at the Delhi Airport, from where they left for their respective destinations.

After receiving a ransom of $2 million (Rs 9 crore), pirates released the crew of the Egyptian-owned vessel, which comprised six Indians, four Pakistanis, 11 Egyptians and one Sri Lankan.

Relieved family members and friends thanked and blessed Pakistani Human Rights activist Ansar Burney, who arranged for the ransom money, thereby securing the release of the sailors.