Indian fisherman suffering from cancer in Pakistan jail, says his family

Vadodara: An Indian fisherman lodged in a Pakistani jail is suffering from cancer, his family said here today while requesting the government to ensure his return home so that he does not die in the neighbouring country.

Rudiben Chauhan, a resident of Paldi area of Gir Somnath district of Gujarat, told PTI that her 35-year-old husband Danabhai Chauhan has been languishing in the Pakistani jail for over a year.

Chauhan and five other fishermen from Gujarat were apprehended by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency near the Jakhau port in Kutch district on May 3, 2017 for allegedly entering the Pakistani waters. Their boat, "Sagar Sonu", was also seized.

Rudiben said her husband called his nephew from a hospital in Pakistan three days ago, and said he was suffering from cancer and he must return to India for better treatment.

"My husband said he does not want to die in the Pakistani jail," the 32-year-old woman said.

The couple has four daughters and a son.

Rudiben today wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, saying it was the responsibility of thejail authorities in Pakistan to inform the family about her husband's ailment but they failed to do so.

Nor did she receive any communication from the Ministry of External Affairs or the Indian High Commission in Pakistan about her husband's condition, she wrote.

"I seek your help for doing the needful," Chauhan said in her letter to Swaraj.

Ever since her husband was captured by the Pakistani authorities, she has been working as a labourer to feed her children, the eldest of whom is 12 years old and the youngest is one and a half years old, she said.

"I earn Rs 100 a day which is not enough to feed my children," she wrote.

Rajya Sabha member Parimal Nathwani, who hails from Gir Somnath district, and Veljibhai Masani, vice president of the Gujarat Fishermen's Association (GFA), told PTI that they too have written separate letters to the External Affairs Minister, requesting her to bring back Chauhan in view of his health.

According to the GFA, 415 Indian fishermen are in Pakistani jails after being caught for allegedly crossing the international maritime border illegally.