Stranded engineers' Goa employer seeks Government's help for release

VADODARA: Chairman of a Goa-based company, whose two engineers are stranded in Iran since December 2013, has sought intervention of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to secure their early release.

Vadodara-resident Sanket Pandya (36) and his colleague Mohammed Hussain Khan (from Haryana) were illegally 'confined' in Iran last year following the seizure of their passports when their employer Power Engineers India Ltd (PIEL), allegedly got embroiled in a dispute with a company there.

PIEL chairman Atul Pai Kane in his letter addressed to Swaraj and Parrikar, dated November 12, urged them to take up the matter with their counterpart in the Iranian government and ensure speedy return of the two employees suffering due to a completely false and unjust case initiated by Iranian company- M/s Vazhar Jahan - without seeking recourse to arbitration as per the provision in the agreement (between the two companies).

The letter further alleged that Vazhar Jahan Co. Iran have initiated false and frivolous legal proceedings against the duo for offences of robbery and malversation and disrupting the system of the power station.

"The company's demand of an exorbitant compensation (arising out of the dispute) without exercising their statutory remedy of Arbitration as provided in the Agreement is also unjust and illegal," it said.

Earlier, the matter was discussed by former External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid with his Iranian counterpart Dr Mohammad Javad Zarif in February 2014.

Since then, as per the order of the court in Zanjan city of Iran, the Indian company also deposited some money as guarantee.

The families of the Indian nationals have also been requesting their early repatriation on humanitarian grounds but failed to secure their release till now.