Mumbai/Mogadishu, April 16
Somali pirates have taken a multi-million dollar ransom but have released just eight of the 15 Indian crew members aboard hijacked Indian freighter MT Asphalt Venture. They have kept the remaining seven hostages in retaliation to the arrests of their men by the Indian Navy.

In the first such step by the sea-brigands of “not honouring” their agreement, seven of the 15 crew members held by them for over six months, were not released despite a ransom - the amount of which remains undisclosed - being paid.

Mumbai-based OMCI Ship Management, the owners of the ship, today clarified that all crew members of the ill-fated vessel were Indians and seven of them were still being held.

Earlier reports had said the pirates had released other crew members while keeping back only Indians.

The ship owners said the pirates released the ship and eight of the crew members, but added they were in the dark over why the other crew members were not allowed to leave as also over their whereabouts.

“Despite concluding a dialogue with the pirates for the full release of 15 crew and vessel and payment of the ransom, the vessel has been released but the Master has reported that six officers and one rating were taken off the tanker and were made to accompany the pirates,” OMCI Ship Management said.

A pirate told The Associated Press that the Indian crew members' hostage ordeal was being prolonged in retaliation for the arrests of more than 100 Somali pirates by the Indian Navy.

“We decided to keep the Indians because India is holding our colleagues,” the pirate, Hassan Farah, was quoted as saying.

The asphalt/bitumen tanker was hijacked by pirates on its way to South Africa from Kenya, southeast of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on September 28, 2010. Eight of the captives were released on April 15 after over six months of negotiations.

“Some media reports suggest that the pirates in Harardhere, off the Somalian shores, have taken the decision not to honour the agreement made but to prolong the hostage ordeal of the seven seafarers in retaliation for the arrest of Somali pirates by the Indian Navy,” he added.

Meanwhile, OMCI said it was making contact with all the families of the captives to explain the situation and have assured them that all steps are being taken for their safe release. — PTI

New Delhi, April 16
Days after Gopal Dass, a resident of Gurdaspur, was released by Pakistan after spending 27 years in a prison there, a New Delhi-based family is hoping that they will get to hear about their missing son, Captain Avinesh Kumar Sharma.

The family believes that the missing Captain, who was of the 11 Engineers regiment, is languishing in jail in Pakistan since he went missing some 15 years ago in 1996.

On August 15, 1996, Capt Sharma, was on routine duty ferrying stores and supplies in a boat to forward posts along the India-Pakistan border. The boat was being used to cross the river Manawar Tavi, in Pallanwala sector in Jammu and Kashmir. All of a sudden, the boat capsized and all 17 occupants were thrown into the river, fighting the rapid currents that had swelled due to rain in the monsoon. All the other 16 solders survived, Sharma was swept away, probably downstream, into Pakistan. “I have visited the spot, it is just 50 metres away from Pakistan. The possibility is that he has been captured. His body or even his clothes have not been recovered so far,” says his brother UK Sharma, hoping that India takes up the matter afresh with Pakistan.

In the past week, the family, in its desperation to locate the missing Captain, spoke to Gopal Dass, but there was no clue. UK Sharma adds, “Gopal Dass told us that civilian and military prisoners are kept in separate jails”. Since 1996, the 11 Engineer regiment has reported him missing / untraceable.

The family mentions a letter written in October 2004 by Pranab Mukherjee, the then Defence Minister, saying “a signal intercept on May 14, 1997 revealed a conversation between Pak police officials that the officer (Capt Sharma) may have been held by the Pak law-enforcement agencies”. Mukherjee, who wrote the letter in response to a query posed by Balanandan, an MP, said the Military Intelligence even approached the Defence Attache of Pakistan but there has been no confirmation.

The family has also laid its hands on documents relating to conversation of the Director General of Military Operations of the Indian Army that he had with his Pakistan counterpart on May 27, 1997. The latter denied the existence of Capt Avinesh Kumar Sharma. The family also claims that the there were reports in 1997 of the missing captain having been shifted to a prison, along with a Tunisian national Abha bin Abdullah Dauhri.

The family has written to successive prime ministers, presidents and army chiefs.

Dhubri (Assam), April 16
The Border Security Force personnel guarding the 134-km-long India-Bangladesh border in Dhubri district of western Assam face tough time in checking rampant smuggling of cattle from Indian side to Bangladesh by smugglers, who get help from local immigrant population living in numerous river isles in the area.

Clashes between the BSF jawans and cattle smugglers have been on the rise in recent times and the border guards often have to resort to gunfire to stop the cattle smugglers from transporting the cattle to Bangladesh or to disperse the village mobs, which often come out in defence of the cattle smugglers. The cattle are being brought from faraway places in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Bihar, as smugglers pay very high price.

According to BSF sources in Dhubri district, the force seized 16,990 cattle that were being smuggled to Bangladesh through the porous border in the Dhubri sector, during 2010 and the value of the seizure has been put at around Rs 30.69 crore.

The BSF also seized huge quantity of various contraband substances like cattle hide, fertiliser, ganja, tractor parts, timber, garments, a particular cough syrup, which were being smuggled out of the country to Bangladesh through the porous border. A seed called dhinsa of a particular weed that enriches the soil fertility is also smuggled into India from Bangladesh. The BSF source put the value of seizure of these items during 2010 at Rs 4.70 crore.

The BSF also apprehended 79 Indian nationals and 21 Bangladeshi nationals along the border for indulging in illegal activities.

BRIEFLY

Minister’s office ransacked
KADAPA (AP): Unidentified persons vandalised the local office of Congress leader and Union minister A Saipratap ahead of the May 8 bypoll here. Unidentified miscreants stormed the office of the minister on Friday night and damaged the furniture and photos of national leaders. — PTI

NASA prize
CHENNAI: Two class VII students of Bhavan's Rajaji Vidyashram here, M Srivatsan and Vasundhara Gautham, have jointly won the second prize with a Romanian team in a competition conducted by NASA. They developed and designed an alternate habitat for human space settlement. — PTI

ATS chargesheet
JAIPUR: The Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Rajasthan Police has submitted a chargesheet against eight Lashkar-e-Toiba operatives allegedly involved in anti-national activities. Those named in the chargesheet are Shakarullah, Iqbal, Asgar Ali, Babu alias Nishchand Ali, Hafiz Abdul Mazid, Kabil Khan, Pawanpuri and Arun Jain. — PTI

Rice at Rs 2/kg
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Election Commission on Saturday lifted the ban on implementation of the Kerala Government's new scheme to provide rice at Rs 2 a kg to consumers belonging to both BPL and APL categories. The EC said since polling in the state was over, the ban was being lifted. — PTI