British Prime Minister David Cameron had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release six British sailors captured in Indian waters on October 11, 2013, The Hindu reports.
The letter was sent to the Prime Minister’s office before Modi’s visit to the United Kingdom in early November.
The six sailors were identified as: John Armstrong Wigton, Nick Dunn Ashington, Ray Tindall Chester, Paul Towers, Nicholas Simpson Catterick and Billy Irving Connel. All are former military men.
We are in the know of this issue and have had several communication with the Tamil Nadu government on this. We are in the process of finding a solution to this.Senior government official.
They were arrested along with 29 other crew members aboard the M V Seaman Ohio, a US-registered vessel. The ship was found anchored off the Tamil Nadu coast, loaded with arms and ammunition, and the crew were unable to provide any documentation or explanation for the possession of the weapons.
The six Britons and the rest of the crew have been detained in Tamil Nadu after their passports were confiscated by the Indian authorities this year following a Supreme Court trial.