35 Somalis arrive in India to face trial over ship hijacking

The December hijacking of the Maltese-flagged MV Ruen was the first timesince 2017 that any cargo vessel had been successfully boarded by Somalipirates.
Indian commandos boarded and took control of the vessel on March 17 some 260nautical miles (480 kilometres) off the coast of Somalia, reports BSS.
The destroyer INS Kolkata, which led the rescue operation, arrived in Mumbaiearly on Saturday carrying all 35 men accused of the hijacking.
A navy statement said the operation "upheld the principles of internationallaw and commitment to ensuring safe seas and maritime security in theregion".
An AFP journalist at the scene saw each of the detained men handcuffed to apolice officer and taken into police vans.
All appeared to be in good spirits although some showed signs of slightinjury including visible bandages.
The group was expected to be brought before a magistrate later on Saturday.
Navy spokesman Vivek Madhwal said this week marked the first time in morethan a decade that men captured at sea would be brought to Indian shores toface trial for piracy.
Under India's anti-piracy laws, the men face the death sentence if they areconvicted of a killing or an attempted killing, and life imprisonment forpiracy alone.
Last Saturday's rescue was the culmination of a 40-hour operation.
Commandos parachuted out of a military C-17 airplane to board the vessel inan assault that "successfully cornered and coerced" all 35 pirates aboard tosurrender, an earlier navy statement said.
In the process they freed the MV Ruen's 17 crew members -- nine from Myanmar,seven from Bulgaria and one from Angola -- none of whom were injured in therescue.
Bulgarian vessel owner Navibulgar called India's rescue a "major success".
- 'Mother ship' -
Somali pirates have in the past sought to capture a "mother ship" capable ofsailing greater distances so they can target larger vessels.
The European Union naval force said the MV Ruen could have been used bypirates for their successful hijacking of the bulk carrier MV Abdullah onMarch 12.
The Bangladesh-flagged MV Abdullah has since been steered into Somali waters,with its 23-member crew still held hostage.
India's navy has been deployed continuously off Somalia since 2008, but itstepped up anti-piracy efforts last year following a surge in maritimeassaults, including in the Arabian Sea and by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthirebels in the Red Sea.
At least 18 other suspected pirates have been captured by India's navy thisyear, including in operations to rescue three Iranian-flagged fishingvessels.
Information on the fate of those hijackers has not been publicly released.
Since the start of the Huthi attacks, launched in response to Israel's waragainst the Palestinian militant group Hamas, many cargo ships have sloweddown far out at sea to await instructions on whether to proceed.
Experts say that has left them vulnerable to attack.