Manoj, 26, a sailor hailing from Mahabubnagar district and his colleagues on board a Merchant Navy ship carrying scrap, were sailing from Ghana to Cameroon to sell the rickety vessel when the main engine sputtered and died out, off the Nigerian coast.
They were forced to drop anchor in the seas, but little did they know they would be stranded for weeks.
A couple of engineers were sent to the mainland to pick up spares, as the ship lay stationary on the waters.
About five or six weeks later and this was sometime in May/June last, they were picked up by the authorities for entering Nigerian waters. From then on, it was an ordeal they would not forget.
In all, 11 Indian working on board were arrested, hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh. Manoj is the only person hailing from Telangana.
Manoj, left Mumbai in 2013 to join a shipping company in Ghana.
Manoj’s father Dasarath, a small-time contractor here came to know about his son’s arrest sometime this August and ever since, he has been making the rounds in New Delhi, together with parents of the other sailors arrested.
On August 18, the parents met Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and made a plaintive plea, asking her to take up the matter Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari seeking an early release of the arrested Indians, when he arrives in New Delhi to participate in the Third India-Africa Forum Summit between October 26 and 29.
“We have been repeatedly pleading with everyone but only the Foreign Ministry can do something in this matter,” he said. Actually, the case was supposed to be heard and disposed on October 12.
Eleven Indians were picked up by the Nigerian authorities as the rickety ship developed some problem and dropped anchor
for weeks
