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Barge tragedy: Court rejects bail pleas of director, employees of shipping firm
The police booked officials of Afcon and Papaa Shipping Private Limited for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
A Mumbai court on Friday rejected bail pleas of the director and two employees of a shipping company booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after one of the firm’s barges (P-305) capsized when Cyclone Tauktae hit in May and left 71 people on board dead. It said the offence was extremely grave. “The applicants, though highly positioned and responsible officers, were callous in duty to protect the life of their crew members who were working in highly dangerous and hazardous operation,” said the court. “Their negligence was culpable with awareness due to several warnings about the Cyclone that there could be a threat to life...”
The police booked officials of Afcon and Papaa Shipping Private Limited for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after the tragedy.
Lawyers Shrish Gupte and Girish Kulkarni, who appeared for the accused, Nitin Kumar Singh (Papaa Shipping director) manager Prasad Rane, and technical superintendent Akhileshwar Tiwari argued the accused were not on board the barge but at the base. They added the three did not have any weather reports, any alerts.
The lawyers said the barge master, who was among those who lost their lives, and Afcons were receiving the reports. “It was the decision of the barge master to keep the barge stationed in high seas and they had no control or role to play in it. The barge could not have been moved without a tug and Afcons was under obligations to provide the same.” The lawyers said one of the accused even sent a message to the barge master to not take any risk while the other two sought help immediately.
Assistant public prosecutor Seema Deshpande argued the accused knowingly did not perform their duties even as the cyclone was anticipated. “To save money and expenditure, the barge was not moved. There is evidence against the accused...”
Additional sessions judge Deepak L Bhagwat rejected the bail pleas, observing there were continuous warnings from the weather department. “The barge master had taken a decision to stay stationed at the spot. However, it was the duty of the applicants to call back the crew members immediately after the alerts were issued. They can’t claim ignorance of the alerts issued as they were related to the operations.”
The court said the barge master initially decided to return but after a meeting with Afcons officials, he changed his decision, which was an error of judgement. “When other barges had returned and only Papaa 305 was anchored in the high-sea, it was their duty to either move the barge or take its crew to safer areas.”
