Arrested Indonesian national had inadvertently used a Thuraya satellite phone, declared illegal in India after 26/11 terror attacks, to communicate with his firm; will have to stay in Mumbai until trial ends
The tug Svitzer Forti
For over a month-and-a-half, Mohammed Fajar, 45, an Indonesian captain of a foreign tug named Svitzer Forti, and 12 crew members, have been stuck in Mumbai, after being arrested for using a banned mode of communication. They were recently released on conditional bail. Fajar and the crew can't leave Mumbai till the trial is over.
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The Thuraya satellite phone that Fajar used to communicate with his company based overseas from Indian waters has been banned in India post the 26/11 attacks, when most of the communication from Pakistan was done via satellite phones, and the Indian agencies couldn't intercept any call.
Fajar and his crew were detained and questioned by the coast guard, customs and even the marine police, who arrested him on May 14 for violation of the Indian Wireless and Telegraph Act. Also, the firm owning the tug had to shell out over $3000 (R2 lakh) a day to park the vessel off the Mumbai port for nearly a month.
Call chaos
According to a senior Indian Coast Guard officer, "We received a specific intelligence input on the Thuraya transmission from an unknown number from a location off the city coast. The Regional Operation Centre (Mumbai) localised the transmission near a tug, Svitzer Forti, anchored about five miles off the port at Mumbai anchorage. A Coast Guard Hovercraft H-194 and a ship C-154 were sent to investigate. An interrogation team comprising coast guard, customs and marine police officers boarded the vessel and found a Nokia satellite transmission set with 15 Thuraya SIM cards, which were sealed and the captain questioned, before he was handed over to the marine police."
He added that after extensive interrogation, it was clear that neither the vessel nor its crew had any ulterior motive.
Use of a satellite phone violates section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, as per which anyone who wishes to carry one into India needs to obtain a licence and furnish the same before the jurisdictional police. They are also required to furnish a declaration to the customs mentioning the phone's brand, serial number and part number.
Captain Mohammed Fajar and the seized satellite phone
Captain questioned
Investigating officer assistant inspector Shivaji Awate of Yellow Gate Police station said, "We found out that the tug was anchored close to Alam Bunder, near the Gujarat port, supplying water for washing large ships in the ocean. Fajar told us that the water had got over and he had to inform his company based abroad. Usually, mid-sea, there's no mobile connection or network, and hence, the Thuraya satellite phone is the only mode of communication available, which is banned in Indian waters."
"After he contacted his office using the phone, he was advised by his staff to not use the phone for oral communication in Indian waters, but only for sending emails," Awate added.
Fajar then started communicating via email, the content of which was checked by officers of all investigating agencies involved, as well as intelligence agencies, who found nothing untoward.
"Nevertheless, we have involved the forensic team at Kalina, who were taken onboard the tug to analyse the phone and submit a detailed analytical report on their findings; we are waiting for it," said Awate.
Counselspeak
Advocate Arpan Rajput, the counsel appointed to release the tug by the owners, said, "The line of argument was that the police have already seized the mobile handset and the Thuraya SIM cards from Fajar, and hence, there is no reason to detain the entire tug and other crew members."
The court accepted this argument and ordered the tug to be released with instructions that all crew members cooperate with the prosecution during the trial. The tug finally sailed off in the second week of June.
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