New Delhi, May 6: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has detained an Iranian fishing vessel with six Indian crew off the coast of Kerala, the defence ministry said on Monday.

The vessel was detained on Sunday following a swift "sea-air" coordinated operation by the ICG, it said.

The ministry said the crew alleged that the "Iranian sponsor" of the vessel ill-treated and deprived them of basic living conditions and confiscated their passports.

Initial investigation revealed that the owner of the boat was an Iranian national who had contracted the Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, it said.

"The Indian Coast Guard detained an Iranian fishing vessel, with six Indian crew, west of Beypore off the coast of Kerala late on May 5. The swift sea-air coordinated operation involved the ships and aircraft of the ICG," the ministry said in a statement.

"After intercepting the boat, an ICG team boarded the vessel and thoroughly investigated it to check the involvement of any anti-national activity," it said.

"Initial investigation revealed that the owner of the boat was an Iranian sponsor who had contracted these Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, and issued them Iranian Visas for fishing off the Iran coast," it added.

The vessel was brought to Kochi for further investigation.

"The crew alleged that the sponsor ill-treated and deprived them of basic living conditions, besides confiscating their passports. The crew said that they had decided to escape from Iran to India using the same boat," the ministry said.

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Ashok Nagar (MP) (PTI): An elderly Dalit couple has been allegedly beaten up and made to wear garlands of shoes in Madhya Pradesh's Ashok Nagar district, police said on Sunday.

The couple's son had allegedly been involved in an eve-teasing incident, they said.

A case has been registered against 10 persons who were at large in connection with the incident of thrashing the couple which took place on Friday in Kilora village under Mungaoli police station limits, an official said.

The couple's son had been allegedly involved in eve-teasing the wife of one of the accused following which the Dalit family left the village, Mungaoli police station in-charge Gabbar Singh Gurjar said.

The couple came to the village recently, he said.

On Friday, the accused allegedly tied the 65-year-old man Dalit man and his wife aged 60 to a pole, beat them up and made them wear garlands of shoes, the official said.

Following a complaint by the victim woman, the police on Saturday registered a case against 10 persons under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly with common objective), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 294 (obscene act) and 506 (criminal intimidation) as well as provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.

All the accused were absconding and efforts were on to trace them, the police added.