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

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.

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.

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.”