ZeeNews
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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New Delhi, Oct 14: The hope of getting safe release of the hostages grew dim after Seema Goyal, wife of the Captain of the captive ship MT Stolt Valor said on Tuesday that in a telephone call she received from the ship, the pirates have demanded the ransom amount of USD 2.5 million within 48 hours. They have threatened to kill all the inmates if their demand is not fulfilled within the given time frame. The Japanese vessel, MT Stolt Valor carrying 18 Indian crew members was hijacked off the Gulf of Aden - almost a month ago. Even though the Indian government has maintained that it has sought international help to end the hijack drama- there is no action which has been taken so far.
The Defence Minister had categorically ruled out an offensive in the high seas saying that the Indian government was banking on negotiations to resolve the crisis- Prompting angry families to ask if authorities are even considering Ransom as a final option.
On being accused of inaction by sections of media, human rights activists and several political groups, the Government defended its stand by saying that it views Somali pirates as terrorists and as a policy will not negotiate with them. However, the Government also assured that they will do everything to save the lives of the Indian citizens.
Source: ZeeNews, Oct 14, 2008