Bhiwani man acquitted in drug case in Kenya returns home after 4 years
WAS AMONG NINE CREW MEMBERS OF AN IRANIAN MERCHANT VESSEL THAT WAS SEIZED BY AUTHORITIES IN KENYA ON SUSPICION OF TRAFFICKING DRUGS
ROHTAK:A Bhiwani youth lodged in a Kenyan jail for the past four years, returned home after being acquitted in a drug trafficking case. Vikas Sharma, 24, of Dhareru village and Praveen Prabhakaran Nair of Kerala’s Kollam were among nine crew members of an Iranian merchant vessel that was seized by authorities in Kenya on suspicion of trafficking drugs.
The duo from India had been languishing in a Kenyan jail since 2014. They were recently acquitted by a court in Mombassa after the judge ruled that they were just interns on the vessel and were unaware of the presence of drugs in the cargo. Vikas was received at the Delhi International Airport by Haryana education minister Ram Bilas Sharma.
Vikas’ mother Lalita Devi said he wanted to get into merchant Navy and was sent abroad by a ‘fake firm’ for training in exchange of a hefty fee. “He was only 20 years old when he was arrested.
He was first taken to Dubai by the firm, from where he was made to board a ship that was seized by Kenyan authorities. I got to know of his arrest a month later after he called from jail,” Devi said.
Devi said being a single mother, she met external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj several times for help to get her only son back to India. “The minister always assured me that she would get my son back soon. She said since it was a matter pending in the court, her role in the process was limited but assured she would provide legal help to Vikas in fighting the case,” Devi said.
She said her son returned with a problem of memory loss, so people around him were not talking to him about his time in Kenya. “I’m only busy feeding him home-cooked food. I’m sure he will get well soon after being back home and eating a nutritious diet,” she said.