Chennai: Four fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were detained by Iranian authorities since February 6 after they reportedly crossed the border in international waters while fishing for a firm in Dubai, returned to Chennai on Sunday.
The 4 fishermen from Kadiapattinam coastal village in Kanyakumari district — M Hilarian (51), C David (40), K Prabhu (330 and M Anthony Raj (44) had ventured into the deep sea for fishing when intercepted by Iranian security agency.
They also faced gunfire when they were confronted mid sea. In the firing, Anthony Raj suffered bullet injuries on his chest and right shoulder. The Iranians took him to the hospital while others were taken to jail.
As their return to India was getting delayed, an NGO, International Fishermen Development Trust, had been trying through diplomatic channels to know their whereabouts, which is when they came to know that they were detained by the Iranian forces for entering into their waters and kept in Bander Abbas jail.
They were later shifted to Orrduza jail. As advised by Indian embassy officials, arrangements were made to collect the passports of these fishermen from their sponsor and handed over to them and they left Iran on Saturday night and landed in Chennai early on Sunday morning.
Though they reached Chennai with Iranian currency worth '2,500 each given to them by Indian mission from Iran, they found that there were no takers for those currency notes at money exchange centres at the airport. The NGO coordinated with the rehabilitation department to arrange bus tickets for the four to go back to their native place.
