Pune captain among 3 merchant navy officers held in Iran

PUNE: A captain from Pune is among three Indian merchant navy officers who have been held by the Iranian government since July 13 on charges of smuggling oil.Capt Mithun Deshpande from Kothrud here was part of the crew of an oil tanker belonging to a shipping company registered at Ajman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and owned by two businessmen, one of them an Indian national.“We are in touch with the Iranian authorities for the release of the three officers. Nine other Indian crew members have been released and they will leave for India soon,” a senior official from the ministry of external affairs told TOI on Monday.As reported in the media, the Iranian authorities also seized a British flagged oil tanker on July 19. As many as 18 Indian nationals were part of the tanker crew and the Indian authorities are negotiating for their release.Deshpande’s wife, Yogini Pophale, told TOI, “My husband joined the company at Ajman on May 28 as a captain. The oil tanker was to travel from Sharjah (UAE) to Sohar (Oman). On July 13, the Iranian authorities arrested nine crew members and the three officers.”She said, “On July 17, the authorities allowed Mithun to make a phone call to his family. He called my brother to inform him about the developments. Mithun told him that they have submitted all necessary documents to the Iranian authorities. They have not done anything illegal. We haven’t been able to establish any contact with him since then. We do not know where he has been kept in Iran.”Pophale said, “We were expecting the company owners to update us about his well-being. They did not provide any information about Mithun nor did they respond to our phone calls. We really do not know how to secure his release.” The desperate family on Monday established contact with the Indian embassy in Iran.“One Iranian official, who is associated with the case, told us that the shipping company is yet to arrange for a lawyer to represent my husband’s case. If the company does not own up responsibility, the charges (over Rs 1 crore in Indian currency as per calculation) will have to incurred by the crew members,” Pophale said.“Today, I managed to establish contact with one of the nine crew members who have been released and are staying in a hotel in Iran. He told me that the owners arranged air tickets for them a few days ago. They will arrive in India on Friday (July 26),” she said.