He was incarcerated in an Iranian prison for 50 days. At the end of it, he was moved to a hotel. It was February 27. He was to return to India the following day. However, with the US and Israel launching joint air strikes against Iran on the day of his departure, February 28, things changed quickly and disastrously for him. He was holed up for another 25 days before he could return home.
Ketan Mehta, now back in Ghaziabad – a suburb of Delhi, recounted his harrowing journey home to NDTV’s Ravish Ranjan Shukla.
“When we left that place (prison) and checked into a hotel, we had no idea that a war was imminent. The very next day, the war broke out. We were completely bewildered; everything shut down-even the airport was closed,” Mehta, dressed in a black shirt and blue denims, told this reporter in Hindi.
His hotel was barely 600-700 metres from the port city of Bandar Abbas, the main base of Iranian navy that has been heavily targeted since the start of the war.
“When we contacted the embassy, they instructed us not to step out of the hotel, as a war situation had developed in the area. Day after day, we began hearing the sounds of bombs and missiles. We would open the hotel windows and look out, only to see missiles raining down right before our eyes,” he said, seated on his royal blue home sofa.
How much bombing used to take place? NDTV asked him.
“100-200 daily,” he said.
His journey back home was even riskier, with the bombs falling on the way.
Mehta recounted that he reached Armenia after undertaking a journey of approximately 1,800 kilometers by bus from Bandar Abbas. It took him nearly 18-19 hours.
“Throughout this journey, the sounds of explosions could be heard continuously echoing from the surrounding mountains. The bus would shake violently. Amidst this atmosphere of fear, we somehow managed to reach the Armenian border,” he said.
A reassuring aspect of this ordeal, he said, was that officials from the Indian Embassy remained in constant contact with him.
And then he took the flight home.
The Prison Story
On December 8, Iranian authorities seized an oil tanker, MT Valiant Roar, while it was in international waters. They alleged that the ship, operated by Dubai-based Prime Tankers LLC, was carrying illegal diesel. The company has denied this.
Ten of the Indian crew members were arrested and moved to a jail in Iran while the others remain on board the ship.
The Ministry of External Affairs said it gained consular access to the 10 arrested men who were being held in Bandar Abbas prison.