The reason and date of the arrest of 30-year-old Amrit, who works for Bai's shipping company, are still unclear.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken the initiative to meet Amrit Jha, a Nepali citizen who is in the custody of Iranian security personnel, to find out the truth. It has been confirmed that seven people, including him, were arrested by Iranian security personnel from Kesan, another island some distance from the Strait of Hormuz. Three of them are still in custody.
Amrit's family, whose ancestral home is Ekdarabela-7 in Mahottari, is currently living in Gaighat, Triyuga Municipality-11 in Udayapur. The reason and date of the arrest of 30-year-old Amrit, who works for a shipping company in Dubai, are not yet clear. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the Honorary Consul General in Iran has been assigned to find out the necessary facts about him.
It is not clear from the documents received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when he was arrested. "It has been confirmed that Amrit was arrested and detained by Iranian security personnel, but the reason for her detention has not been revealed, and there is even more uncertainty about the date of her arrest," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri Poudel told Kantipur. "Efforts are being made to understand whether she was arrested during the last war or before that." Spokesperson Poudel said that the Nepali Embassy in Qatar is working through the honorary consul general in Iran to find out the truth about Amrit and to talk to her family.
According to him, the ship left the Sea of Oman on December 25 (10 Pus). There were seven people on the ship. Four of those detained were released at that time. Amrit and two Indian citizens are still in custody. The US and Israel last launched an attack on Iran on February 28 (16 Falgun), and the war is still ongoing.
Amrit and two Indian citizens have been transferred from Qasan Island to a prison in Abbas Port in the Hormuz region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Amrit's employer, Black Sea Marine LLC, has filed a writ in court with a lawyer in Iran for his release. The United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Black Sea Marine Company has been taking contracts to transport crude oil. According to the Department of Foreign Employment, Amrit appears to have gone to the UAE on July 19, 2024, after obtaining a work permit as a seaman. According to the application filed by the family with the Consular Department, he had gone to Iran from Dubai on the company's ship. Amrit's sister Pooja said that she came to know that her brother was in Iranian prison after receiving a 'voice message' a few days ago.
'A voice message came from an unknown number on WhatsApp. In the message, the brother said that we have been taken into custody by the Iranian army and that other Indians have also been arrested,' Pooja told Kantipur. 'Later, when we tried, we could not contact that number.'
According to Pooja, Amrit was last spoken to on the phone on January 12 (28 Pus). "At that time, he said, 'I am in Iran now, my work is almost done, and then I will come directly to Nepal,'" Pooja added, "But suddenly after receiving a voice message that my brother was arrested, we have applied to the consular department to find him. I request the Nepalese government to take the initiative for his release as soon as possible." The family has applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday and requested that the necessary investigation be carried out and he be brought back to Nepal as soon as possible.
The family is restless after the news that their son Amrit has been taken into custody by the Iranian army. According to Amrit's sister Pooja, he went to Dubai two years ago. His 70-year-old father, Govind Jha, has been running a shoe and slippers shop in Gaighat Bazaar. His shop has been closed for five days after the news that his son was taken into custody by Iranian security personnel. All the family members are currently in Kathmandu, demanding that the government take the initiative to rescue their son.
Amrit's mother and sister had reached Kathmandu as soon as they heard the news. Govind, who has heart problems, was told the news that his son had been taken into custody only late. "We did not inform my father for a few days that he might have health problems. But we told him how long he would lie. As soon as he heard the news, he didn't feel like staying home, he came to Kathmandu,' said Pooja. Amrit had completed his schooling in Gaighat and pursued higher education in Bangalore, India.
