Five Indian sailors who were among 25 crew in the Israel-linked cargo ship seized by Iran have been released and are on their way back to India, the Indian Embassy in Tehran has said.
“(Five) 5 of the Indian sailors on MSC Aries have been released and departed from Iran today evening. We appreciate the Iranian authorities for their close co-ordination with the Embassy and Indian Consulate in Bandar Abbas,” the Embassy said on X.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had seized the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship MSC Aries carrying 25 crew, 17 of whom are Indian citizens, in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13.
New Delhi had contacted Tehran to secure their release.
Ann Tessa Joseph, the only female crew on the seized ship, was released and returned to her home state of Kerala in southern India on April 18.
Iran has also freed a Filipino and an Estonian crew.
The remaining 11 Indian crew will be released once their contractual obligations are accomplished, media reports said.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had expressed concern over the crew’s conditions in a phone call to his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in April.
Iran had allowed Indian diplomats to meet the crew.
The seizure of the ship came amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel over the killing of senior members of the paramilitary group in an air strike in Syria.
Tehran had launched 300 missiles and combat drones on the same day as it seized the ship in retaliation for Israel’s air strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1.
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Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
