5 Palghar fishermen return home after being in Pakistan jail for 3 years

Palghar: Five fishermen from Dahanu and Talasari Talukas of Palghar were among the first batch of 200 prisoners released by the government of Pakistan on May 11 after three years. Pakistan decided to repatriate 500 Indian prisoners, which includes 499 fishermen and a civilian.

The fishermen were caught under the pretext of crossing into Pakistani waters while they were fishing. As there are no demarcations in the sea, this may have occurred accidentally sometimes or they were caught without proper evidence. However, government officials and many family members were unaware of the arrival schedule of released prisoners.

600 prisoners scheduled to be released in 3 batches

Jailed in Malir district prison in Karachi, 600 prisoners were scheduled to be released in three batches. Thirty prisoners are from Talasari and Dahanu Talukas. The first batch reached via the Wagah Border.

In 2019, the fishermen who were working on fishing boats of Mangrol (Veraval) got arrested by Pakistani Coast Guard officers. Jaywant, 39, and Jitesh Pachalkar, 18 – father and son from Patlipada-Palghar – Arjun Davare, 31, of Shanvarpada-Palghar, Jitesh Diva, 20, of Jambugaon, and Vilas Khondhari, 32, of Govarpada-Talasari reached their homes by the vehicle arranged by their boat owner.

It was an emotional moment for two daughters and the mother of Arjun Davare as his wife had died while he was in prison. The wife and son of Vilas Kondhari had come to receive him. Relatives of Jitesh Diva were waiting for him at Sanjan, Gujarat, and the wife and daughter of the Palkar family were working in brick kilns.

Earlier, after their arrest, the boat owners had not informed the families of the fishermen. Later, one among them sent a letter from Malir Jail informing his family about their arrest.

Naresh Bhekre, an activist, strives to collect identity proofs to prove the Indian identity of those arrested, which helped in the release of the fishermen after the Pakistani government's decision. The boat owners did not entertain the calls of the relatives of the arrested nor helped the families financially. Earlier, the boat owners had assured to make efforts for the release; however, nothing was done later.

A social organization in Pakistan helped the released prisoners with clothes and Pakistani Rs5,000 to reach the Indian border. They were given a farewell lunch and sent into Indian territory.