Iranian boat intercepted off Koyilandy coast, six Indian fishermen held

Kozhikode, Kerala: The Indian Coast Guard on Sunday intercepted an Iranian fishing boat off the coast of Koyilandy in this district.

Six fishermen, hailing from Kanyakumari in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, were taken into custody from on board the vessel, coastal police here said.

"The boat went out of fuel when it reached Koyilandy. All those who were taken into custody were fishermen who had gone to Iran from Kanyakumari for fishing around one and half years ago," a police officer told PTI.

He said as per the preliminary assumption, they were on their way to their native place after escaping from Iran.

"As per their statement, they were not getting any salary and were suffering ill-treatment in Iran. They said they even had to suffer physical assault from the employer. So they escaped in the same boat they had been engaged in fishing," he said.

The boat is now under the custody of the Coast Guard and all the six fishermen were taken to Kochi, he added.