New Delhi [India], Feb. 06 (NT): Maldives President Abdulla Yameen announced a 15-day state of emergency on Monday before heavily armed troops stormed the country's Apex court and a former leader was detained in a deepening political crisis.

The island nation has been pitched into havoc; with the president pitted in opposition to the Supreme Court after he turned down to comply with its Thursday order to free nine political dissidents.

The face-off comes amid a years-long government crackdown on dissent that has beat-up the image of the up market holiday paradise, with the locked up president almost all the political opposition since he came to power in 2013.

On Monday, Maldives police detained Yameen's estranged half-brother and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had sided with the main opposition. The 80-year-old -- president for 30 years until the country's first democratic elections in 2008 -- was taken from his home in the capital Male around midnight on Monday, according to a tweet from his daughter Yumna Maumoon.

In the wake of emergency being declared in the Maldives, MEA suggests Indians to defer non-essential travels to Maldives and urged expatriates to remain on alert due to the recent developments.

"The prevailing political developments in the Maldives and the resultant law and order situation is a matter of concern for the Government of India. Indian nationals are, therefore, advised to defer all non-essential travels to Male and other atolls until further notice," the MEA said in a statement.

"Indian expatriates in Maldives are also alerted to the need for heightened security awareness, and urged to exercise due caution in public and avoid public gatherings," the statement added.