Indian Navy sailor Suraj Kumar Dubey who died in Mumbai on Friday night after being set ablaze by kidnappers in Maharashtra’s Palghar, was cremated with full state honours at his native village Purbadiha in Jharkhand’s Palamu district on Monday.
The army and navy personnel gave a gun salute to the sailor. Jharkhand minister Mithilesh Thakur also attended the funeral.
The navy man was found with severe burn injuries in the jungles of Gholvad in Palghar and died while being taken to a hospital in Mumbai.
In his dying declaration, Dubey had reportedly claimed that the armed men had demanded a ransom of ₹10 lakh from him. However, his elder brother Niraj Kumar Dubey said that they did not get any ransom call between January 30 and February 5.
Dubey was on leave from January 1 to February 1. He had taken a flight to Hyderabad from Ranchi at 8 am on January 30. After reaching Hyderabad, he spoke to his family members. He then boarded another flight for Chennai from where he was scheduled to take a train to Coimbatore to rejoin duty.
Dubey disappeared without trace after landing in Chennai at 9 pm that night. His mobile phone was switched off and his family then contacted INS Agrani where he was deployed as leading seaman and finally filed a missing complaint with Chainpur police station in Palamu.
{{/usCountry}}Dubey disappeared without trace after landing in Chennai at 9 pm that night. His mobile phone was switched off and his family then contacted INS Agrani where he was deployed as leading seaman and finally filed a missing complaint with Chainpur police station in Palamu.
{{/usCountry}}Local leaders including Palamu MP VD Ram and former Speaker of Jharkhand assembly Inder Singh Namdhari have demanded a CBI inquiry into Dubey’s death but minister Mithilesh Thakur said the sailor’s death should not be politicised.
“There should not be any politics on the death of an Indian Navy sailor. The state government will provide a financial assistance of ₹10 to the bereaved family and sanction pension for the family members.”
“Not only Jharkhand but the entire country is grieving the untimely demise of an Indian sailor. The government will ensure that exemplary action is taken against those involved in this heinous crime. The government will also strive for speedy delivery of justice for this son of Palamu,” the minister said.
Dubey’s family members alleged there was a conspiracy behind his death and suspect two of his colleagues were involved in the murder.