Wife of engineer stranded in Iran again seeks help of Goa CM

Vadodara: The wife of an Indian engineer stranded in Iran since December last year has again written to Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar seeking her husband's safe return.

Vadodara-resident Sanket Pandya (36) and his colleague Mohammed Hussain Khan, from Haryana, were illegally 'confined' in Iran last year following the seizure of their passports when their Goa-based employer allegedly got embroiled in a dispute with a company there.

Sanket's wife Priti had approached the Goa Chief Minister in March this year, seeking his help in securing the release of the duo and their return to India. She had received an e-mail message on July 18 from Parrikar stating, "Had discussions with company directors they promised that solution might be possible in next 10 days."

But, with no further progress in the case, Priti wrote afresh to Parrikar reminding him of his assurance. She also pointed out the alleged failure of the Goa-based company in ensuring release of both their employees. Priti said in the letter said that despite she being in constant touch with the top officials of the company, they failed to give a satisfactory reply on when her husband and Khan could return home.

She also threatened to sit on fast unto death if the company fails to secure the release of her husband and his colleague. Priti had earlier also approached Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj seeking her intervention to secure Sanket's release.

Pandya and Khan's passports were allegedly seized by the private engineering firm in Iran's Zanjan city over a business dispute with their India-based employer. Both were part of the Indian team sent to Iran for supervision of installation and pre-commissioning of a power plant being set up in Zanjan by the private company.

But, their passports were seized after a contractual dispute arose between the two companies leaving them trapped. In January this year, both of them were shifted to a hotel in Tehran after their 'release' from a guest house in Zanjan, where they were allegedly 'confined'. Sanket had also earlier urged the Indian Government to facilitate their early and safe return. He had said that his 63-year-old mother Ilaben Pandya had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting for his safe return.