Body of missing seaman found near Sassoon Dock

Deceased’s argument with another seaman could be linked to his disappearance and death, said his cousin

MUMBAI: The body of a 23-year-old seaman, who went missing from a barge near Bhaucha Dhakka on Monday afternoon, was discovered on Wednesday near Sessoon Dock in Colaba. Police said they did not suspect any foul play in the case, but the deceased’s family dismissed this, saying his purported argument with another seaman needed to be investigated.

Body of missing seaman found near Sassoon Dock

According to Colaba police, the deceased, Sunil Pachhar, a resident of Sikar in Rajasthan, had been working as seaman on a barge since November 2024. On Monday, he was reported missing by the barge’s captain Devashish Mondal.

In his complaint, Mondal said that the barge was anchored 500 metres away from Bhaucha Dhakka and Pachhar was sleeping on the deck, under the wheelhouse. But around 3pm, it was found that Pachhar was not at his usual spot.

“The seamen believe that Pachhar went to pee while he was in deep sleep and fell off the barge and died as he did not know swimming,” said an officer from the Yellow Gate police station, where the missing complaint was registered.

On Wednesday, Pacchar’s body was recovered from the sea near Sassoon Dock, which comes under the jurisdiction of Colaba police station, and sent for postmortem to Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital.

Ramesh Mund, the deceased’s cousin, said he suspected Pachhar’s argument with another seaman was linked to his disappearance and death.

“My cousin had sent a message to his colleague Sachin’s female friend, which had angered the latter and led to arguments between them,” Mund told Hindustan Times. Pachhar’s girlfriend had overheard an argument between him and Sachin while she was talking to him and had recorded the conversation on her phone, he said.

“We want the police to investigate the matter. We have the recordings of the conversation where Pacchar is heard arguing with Sachin,” he said.

The Colaba police said they are in the process of registering an accidental death report in the case and would call the deceased’s family members to the police station to verify their claims.