Three years after 'no more' report, parents still wait for their missing son

[email protected] (CD Network)
June 13, 2012

Kasargod, June 13: More than three years after the mysterious disappearance of a Kasargod based sailor on board a merchant vessel, a committee has been formed to press the authorities to launch a high level enquiry into issue.

A meeting held here on Tuesday has decided to formally commence their struggle demanding justice for the parents of Pradeep Raj (26) – who allegedly jumped off the Panama-registered MV El Eltanin, which was sailing towards China from the United States three years ago– on June 23 through a public meeting.

raj

Pradeep Raj

Continued wait

The poor elderly couple- Nagesha Chettiyar and his wife- are under shock since last three years, have been running from pillar to post to find out what happened to their bread winner son.

They have been knocking on all possible doors - right from those of their local legislator to those of senior ministers in the state and the central government - and have also written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for help.

Residing in a small house at Kudlu near here, they are shedding tears quietly recalling their last telephone conversations with Raj. “He had called us on April 6, 2009 just before the ship set sail from Panama to China with a 22-member crew that included 13 Indians. He again called us, and also his sister who lives in Dubai, when the ship reached Hawaii on April 24. He sounded very cheerful. He was planning to do a course to become a Fifth Engineer. He was a brilliant student who passed his diploma course (mechanical) with distinction,” recalls Chettiyar.

parents

Grief stricken parents of Pradeep Raj

A few days later, i.e. on May 2 and 3, they received two telegrams from his recruiting agency, Mumbai-based Marlow Navigation India Pvt Ltd, saying that Raj is missing. Subsequently, in the last week of June in the same year, they received a report saying that Pradeep is no more.

“The report is vague. It says Pradeep jumped into the water. It says there are no witnesses,” says a grief-stricken Chettiyar couple who are not ready to believe that their son is dead.

Though the couple have requested the Shipping Minister and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister, among others, to take the initiative to find the whereabouts of their son, there has been no breakthrough in the case so far.

“I was informed that the government had asked the company to re-investigate the matter. However, our wait has still continued,” Chettiyar said. “Because of the anxiety, we don't get sleep at night. My wife is suffering from stress and is taking sleeping pills.”


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coastaldigest.com news network
June 29,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 29: A three year old child lost its life after being hit by a car at Nadupadavu village under the limits of Konaje police station on the outskirts of the city today. 

The victim has been identified as Faheema (3), daughter of  Farooq, a resident of Nadupadavu. 

The mishap occurred when the girl ran towards the road when the car was entering a main road from an inner road.

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AZAM arabi
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Tuesday, 30 Jun 2020

DO NOT APPRETIATE THE PICTURE OF BLOOD SPLASH PUT IN BY THE DESIGNER !! BE SENSITIVE , COASTAL DIGEST IS EVEN FAMOUS AMONG CHILDREN WHO READ NEWS PAPER OR LEARNING TO !!! 

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News Network
April 27,2020

New Delhi, Apr 27: Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has said the monthlong ongoing lockdown has yielded positive results and that the country has managed to save “thousands of lives”.

Modi, who had a videoconference with various heads of the states on Monday, said the impact of the coronavirus, however, will remain visible in the coming months, according to a press statement released by his office. On the issue of getting back Indians who are overseas, the Prime Minister said that this has to be done keeping in mind the fact that they don’t get inconvenienced and their families are not under any risk.

During the meeting with state heads, Modi advocated for social distancing of at least 6 feet and the use of face masks as a rapid response to tackle COVID-19.

He said that states should put their efforts of converting hotspots, or red zones, into “orange and thereafter green zones”.

India last week eased the lockdown by allowing shops to reopen and manufacturing and farming activities to resume in rural areas to help millions of poor, daily-wage earners. But the economic costs of the nationwide lockdown continue to mount in a country of 1.3 billion people.

Modi, who put India under a strict lockdown on March 25, did not say if the lockdown restrictions will extend after May 3.

India has confirmed over 27,000 cases of the coronavirus, including 872 deaths.

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News Network
April 28,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 28: A CRPF jawan has been arrested in Karnataka for allegedly defying the COVID-19 lockdown norms with the paramilitary force taking strong exception to his 'ill treatment', following which an inquiry has been ordered by the state police.

State DGP Praveen Sood has ordered inquiry into the incident, which has triggered a row after a video of it went viral.

In the clip, some police constables are purportedly seen hitting CRPF soldier Sachin Sawant with sticks in Belagavi.

According to the information shared on social media, Sawant was washing his bike when a police team reached the spot and started beating him up for not wearing a mask during the lockdown.

Taking a serious view of the 'ill-treatment' meted out to its Cobra Commando, the CRPF has written a letter to the Karnataka police demanding an investigation into the matter.

In a letter to the DGP of Karnataka, the additional Director general of police of CRPF Sanjay Arora said Sawant was cleaning his bike when a skirmish happened between him and the police over not wearing the mask.

Arora wrote, "Sawant was manhandled and ill-treated, before his family members and paraded to the police station barefoot, where he was kept in chains and handcuff.

From the scrutiny of a viral video on social media, it is apparent that the conduct of police personnel was not citizen centric."

The CRPF ADGP also said the 'unpleasant' situation could have been avoided if the Karnataka police had taken CRPF hierarchy into confidence before making the arrest.

In response, Sood ordered an inquiry into the matter.

He tweeted that IGP Belagavi has been asked to conduct a probe into the incident involving CRPF constable. Action will be taken against guilty after receipt of report, he said.

According to sources, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai has directed the state police chief to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident.

Denouncing the arrest, Karnataka Irrigation Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi has sought the release of the CRPF jawan.

"It was wrong on the part of the constables to ill treat CRPF jawan and an inquiry be conducted against the erring policemen," said jarkiholi in a press release.

However, Superintendent of Police of Belagavi district, Laxman Nimbargi defended the arrest of Sawant.

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