3 from TN in custody after illegal ferry from Kuwait to Mumbai

MUMBAI: Three Tamil Nadu residents, driven by the promise of a better future, ventured to Kuwait two years ago in pursuit of opportunity, but their aspirations turned into a harrowing tale of alleged physical and mental abuse over two years, culminating in a daring escape.

Their desperate bid to escape involved stealing their employer’s boat and enduring a ten-day ordeal surviving on nothing, but bread and jam and intended to reach their home state, but found themselves before the Gateway of India in Mumbai where they were arrested by the Mumbai Police.

Their lawyer Sunil Pandey said the trio -- Nitso Ditto (31), Vijay Vinay Anthony (29), and J Sahayatta Anish (29) -- wanted to escape from their employer Abdulla Sharheed, a Kuwaiti national as the three claimed that they were often subjected to physical and mental abuse.

Police have so far found nothing against the three, who have been remanded to police custody till February 10 by a local court here. With no help coming, they executed a plan to escape, informing Sharheed that they were going fishing and then fleeing with a boat filled with 6,000 litres of diesel.

The police, who seized the GPS from the boat, said that the three had travelled through several countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Muscat, Oman, and Pakistan before reaching Indian shores. The police have charged them under the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, as no person can enter the country without valid documents.