Intervene in case of Navy men detained by Nigeria: Himachal minister appeals to Modi, Sushma Swaraj

Dharamsala: Himachal Pradesh minister GS Bali on Thursday requested the Centre to come to the rescue of two Kangra-based Navy personnel, who were detained by the Nigerian Navy in August. The state transport minister, in a letter to prime minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, said the Navy personnel were among the crew of commercial ship ‘Sea Pearl’ detained by the Nigerian Navy in August. [caption id=“attachment_4174445” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The detained sailors had last week sent a video to their family via a social messaging application, requesting the Indian government for their release. “It has come to my attention that two young boys from Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh have been detained by the Nigerian Navy since August, 2017. Atul Sharma and Sudhir Kumar were serving as sailors on board the commercial sea liner called ‘sea pearl’ that was apprehended by the Nigerian authorities,” Bali said in the letter. “Taking cognisance of the issue, I request honourable prime minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to intervene in the matter,” it said