The former vice-president of Maldives, Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor who was detained by Tuticorin Port (Tamil Nadu) Authority on August 1 was deported to Maldives on Saturday, news outlet ANI reported.
According to reports, Ghafoor along with the nine crew members of the tugboat were handed over to the Maldivian authorities along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
Ghafoor had reached Tamil Nadu coast on Thursday via the sea route in order to seek political asylum from India citing a threat to his life in Maldives where he is undergoing trials in alleged corruption case.
He had also been under house arrest in Maldives.
Following this, he was detained by the Coast Guard after he attempted to enter the Indian waters on board a barge named Virgo 9 through an unofficial entry point. "The entry is facilitated on the basis of appropriate valid travel documents. In the instant case, since he was not entering India through a designated entry point and did not possess the valid document, he has not been permitted entry into India," Foreign Minister spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said the day Ahmed Adeeb Ghafoor was found on the vessel.
Everyone on board had the necessary paperwork apart from Ghafoor whose passport had been taken by the Maldivian government. His deportation don't come as a surprise given that India harbours a close relationship with Maldives.
The Maldivian Defence Forces Chief Abdulla Shamal had last month also thanked New Delhi for playing the role of a "security guarantor" for peace and stability within the region.
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