Malappuram : The owner of boat that sank 22 people to death last Sunday , has been charged with culpable homicide, said District Police Chief in Malappuram. What the boat owner, Vatrarkath Nasar did was, sending passengers knowingly into potentially fatal ride, the SP said.
The report to submitted on the case will lay out section 302 of the IPC. The suspect is cooperative with questioning. He will be produced before the court within 24 hours after which, the police will seek his custody for collecting evidence. Experts from CUSAT will inspect the boat. Police have stepped up their search of the boat’s crew, including its drier Dinesh, the SP said, fielding questions from the media in aftermath of the tragedy.
The Tanur Tragedy
Private cruise boat named “Atlantic” capsized 700 meters from shore in the estuary close to Thooal Theeram at Ottumpuram late Sunday evening around 7:30 pm. 22 including 12 children were drowned to death. 11 passengers were rescued, of whom , 8 are undergoing treatment at MIMS hospital in Kottakkal. A 7-year-old is hospitalised at Kozhikode Medical College. Of the survivors, seven children at MIMS are in critical condition.
It has been determined there were 37 on board at the time of accident. Families from varied parts of Kerala were up cruising on weekend holiday. The vessel is owned by Tanur native Nassar.
According to witness account, the boat sloped to a side and tossed over completely. Another cruise boat that came close behind saw the accident happen. They alerted authorities and started to search for passengers who became submerged under the vessel.
The boat owner Nassar went into hiding soon after the incident. He was nabbed by the police from Kochi while attemptng to seek lawyer for an anticipatory bail.
