CHENNAI: As many as 11 TN fishermen, who were allegedly treated as bonded labourers in Saudi Arabia, were rescued by the Indian embassy and they returned to Chennai on Wednesday.
A group of 11 fishermen from Kanniyakumari and Ramanathapuram had gone to Saudi Arabia for fishing work on a contract a year ago. Police said four months ago, the fisherman’s father had passed away and following that, he contacted the private firm to allow him to travel to India to attend the funeral.
The firm had also reportedly rejected his leave proposal, asked him to continue to work and told him that leave would not be provided at any cost. After the incident, the State fishermen together argued with the contractor, who, in retaliation, stopped paying them salaries and food. When asked by the firm to send the fishermen back to India, the latter were reportedly asked to pay Rs 2 lakh.
Later, the families of the fishermen requested the CM Stalin and the Union government to rescue the fishermen. With the help of the Indian embassy, 11 fishermen were rescued and given travel documents. They reached Chennai on Wednesday morning. Tamil Nadu Ministers KS Masthan and Mano Thangaraj welcomed them at the airport and arranged transport for travelling to their native villages.