Two Indian truck drivers have been arrested in Iraq for illegal entry and efforts are on to get them released, the government said on Monday.
NEW DELHI: Two Indian truck drivers have been arrested in Iraq for illegal entry and efforts are on to get them released, the government said on Monday.
Ashraf and Fracis, both from Kerala, are employees of the American company Public Warehousing Company and were driving trucks into Iraq from Kuwait when they were detained on November 6 at Subair in Basra, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed said.
Along with them, a Pakistani, a Nepali and a Turkish national, were arrested, as all of them were part of a convoy, Ahamed said.
They were arrested for non-possession of valid documents, he said.
Earlier, reports had suggested that they had been abducted. This had triggered fears of repetition of an incident on July 2004 when three Indian truck drivers were kidnapped and let off after 41 days of bargaining.
After brief detention of Ashraf, Francis and three others at the Subair police station, they were shifted to the Basra detention centre, said Ahamed over the telephone from Kerala.
A case has been registered against the arrested persons and the matter has been referred to the court, the minister said. The PWG has engaged a lawyer to get them released.
A representative of the company will be travelling from Kuwait to Basra on Tuesday to meet the drivers, he said.
The company has ascertained through its sources that the arrested drivers are being treated well and efforts are being made to help them call home.
The minister said as soon as he came to know about the incident yesterday, he had asked the Indian Embassy in Kuwait to collect details. The Mission got in touch with the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry and is working with the company to ensure the release of the arrested people.
Ahamed regretted Indians are still going to Iraq in violation of the government's travel advisory cautioning against such a step.
He reiterated Indians should avoid going to Iraq in view of the prevailing security situation there.
About four months back, three Indians on their way to Karbala for pilgrimage were abducted and killed by some unidentified persons.
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