Mohammad Tanvir Uz Zaman
Kolkata: A 38-year-old man from Ekbalpore was among five crew members killed by pirates off Somalia’s coast in the early hours of Wednesday. Mohammad Tanvir Uz Zaman , a resident of Nawab Ali Lane, was the only Indian sailor aboard Mogadishu-bound MT Honor 25, working as a cook on a nine-month contract. The vessel had 17 crew members and was carrying 18,500 barrels of oil. The vessel was later rescued and 16 suspected pirates detained, according to Puntland’s information ministry.
Tanvir was killed along with three Pakistani sailors and one from Myanmar. TOI spoke to Tanvir’s father Mohammad Nurzaman, mother Anowara Begum, wife Meheraj Akhtar and elder sister Reshma Bibi, who are seeking govt help to bring his body home. They alleged injury marks showed he had been tortured before being gunned down.
Tanvir, who married in May last year, left for the assignment in Dec, flying to Dubai before boarding the vessel from Oman.
Pirates held the crew captive for five months since April 21. “He had been working on cargo vessels since 2019. She last spoke to him on Sept 16.
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Who knew this assignment would cost his life?” said his mother. His nephew Raja Altaj Khan said Tanvir initially contacted the family through a secret phone. Every time he used to talk about unbearable abuse by the pirates,” he said. Khan said the pirates demanded ransom. We were told that the MEA was looking into the matter. State Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said the initial claim that no Indian was aboard “false.
Tanvir’s family alleged they repeatedly contacted the private shipping company that employed him and the Centre for his release. He was supposed to return home after his assignment. “After that, the pirates allowed him to speak with them occasionally for five minutes through video call once a day and later once a week. “We tried reaching out to the CM’s office and the Centre through the shipping company. But nothing was done. He demanded a probe. Download the TOI App.
Their hopes were shattered on Wednesday when a Pakistani crew member sent them photos and videos of Tanvir’s blood-splattered body.