HC rejects plea for special agency probe into engineer’s death at ONGC site

The father of the engineer, Enos Varghese, alleged that his son was brutally killed and thrown into the sea. Enos went missing on the night of February 24, 2023, from an offshore site of ONGC, where he was engaged by his employer, M/s System Protection.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Monday dismissed the petition filed by a grieving father for the transfer of investigation into the mysterious death of his son, Enos Varghese, 26, an electrical engineer working at an ONGC site, to a special agency.

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Enos went missing on the night of February 24, 2023, from an offshore site of ONGC, where he was engaged by his employer, M/s System Protection. The court observed that the 26-year-old appeared mentally disturbed and found no evidence of any foul play in his disappearance.

Enos was engaged in a maintenance contract for offshore installation on the high seas off the Mumbai coast. On the day of the incident, Enos informed his father that his work was complete, and he would be returning to the shore soon. However, the same day, the father received a distressing call from Enos’ manager, Kamlesh, who informed him that his son had gone missing. The company’s deputy manager Karan Shah, thereafter, informed the family that Enos had jumped into the sea.

Enos’ father, Geevarghese B, later learnt that his son was allegedly facing serious threats and danger from Shah because of which he had filed a complaint with the chief minister of Kerala, Human Rights Commission, along with writing to the Prime Minster of India on the centralised public grievance redressal and monitoring system website. The father alleged that Enos had been brutally killed and thrown into the sea.

The deputy commissioner of police, Port Zone, Mumbai, submitted a report on April 17, 2023, stating that nothing suspicious was found in their investigation on the missing complaint. Following this, the father claimed that the police had not conducted a proper investigation and insisted on registering an FIR. On refusal of the request, he filed a petition in the Bombay high court for the transfer of the case to a special agency.

Assistant police inspector Sachin Shelke had filed an affidavit in reply to the petition, stating that a search was launched for Enos with the help of an ONGC helicopter, Navy helicopter, and by the Coast Guard, but he was not found and, therefore, a missing complaint was registered at the Yellow Gate police station on February 25, 2023, and statements of his father and his colleagues were recorded.

Few of Enos’ colleagues stated that they were all working together at that time and witnessed Enos removing his clothes and talking gibberish. Shah stated that he saw Enos swimming in the water, refusing to hold onto the life buoy thrown to save him, and then disappearing in the water.

The police report, submitted on September 13, 2023, revealed that Enos had become erratic and used to mumble, “Our life is in danger. Tell our boys to escape with certificates and belongings. I can’t explain to you now. Everything starts from O.”

After reviewing the evidence, the division bench of justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice Dr. Neela Gokhale noted that the investigation conducted by the local police and by ONGC was not tainted or biased.

Highlighting that the transfer of investigation will serve no purpose, the court stated that Enos appeared to be in a disturbed frame of mind and apparently refused to be saved. “Losing a son is an extremely traumatic experience for any parent. No amount of empathy can mitigate the pain and suffering of the petitioner or offer solace, and we acknowledge the grief of the petitioner and other loved ones of Enos,” the bench added.