Merchant navy engineer returns home after two years in Ghana prison

Jogesh Chandra Das, a chief engineer of the merchant navy and a resident of Picnic Garden, Kolkata, was languishing as an undertrial in a Nigerian jail since October 2014 before he was released.

Jogesh Chandra Das, a chief engineer of the merchant navy and a resident of Picnic Garden, Kolkata, was languishing as an undertrial in a Nigerian jail since October 2014 before he was released.

“My father set out for Ghana on October 23, 2013. On July 22, 2014, the ship mistakenly entered Nigerian waters and my father, along with 11 other members of the crew, was arrested,” daughter Sreyoshi Das said earlier.

“CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Rhitobrata Banerjee had taken up the matter and then government of India also helped us a lot,” she explained.

She and her mother also thanked two Indians who are residents of Nigeria – Sandip Singh and Bharat Agarwal for extending their helping hand to her father for the last two years.

Jogesh Chandra Das was lodged in Yenugua Prison at Bayalsa and was facing trial for a case initiated by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission of Nigeria. Initially, Das did not let his family know that he was in jail. He simply said his ship had been detained and they would start sailing once the authorities released the vessel.

“My father and the crew were finally released as no evidence was found against them. The Indian government also played an important role in getting them released and bring them back to India,” she said on Sunday.