Trio held for entering India illegally after sailing from Kuwait sent to judicial custody

Mumbai: A Mumbai court on Monday rejected a plea seeking further police remand of three Tamil Nadu residents who were arrested for unlawfully entering India after sailing from Kuwait and arriving near the Gateway of India last week.

Accused Nitso Ditto (31), Vijay Vinay Anthony (29), and J Sahayatta Anish (29), who were arrested on February 7, were produced before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Esplanade court) K S Zanwar and were sent to 14-day judicial custody.

The police had sought two days additional remand saying a thorough investigation was needed as the crime related to international border violation. The police also told court there was need to probe whether the trio had committed any crime in Kuwait or during their boat journey.

The police plea also stated they hadn't got information on the route, the antecedents of the accused and the stops enroute, adding the GPS was switched off.

Probe was needed on whether there was any unknown person with them or if they had violated any international law, the police told court.

Advocate Sunil Pandey, representing the three accused, opposed the plea for extension of police remand, saying there is no progress in investigation since the previous custody.

The current remand note is a "copy paste" of the previous one and there is no change in the grounds (for seeking custody extension), Pandey said.

The advocate told court the probe related to GPS is technical and physical custody of the accused was not required for it.

After hearing both the sides, the magistrate remanded Ditto, Anthony and Anish in 14-day judicial custody, following which the trio applied for bail.

The court called for the reply of the prosecution and posted the matter to February 16.

The three accused have claimed they went to Kuwait for work two years ago but were allegedly mistreated by their employer. The trio said they fled the Middle East nation on January 28 on their employer's boat and reached Indian shores.