By Akhand in Bhubaneswar and Rajesh Kumar Behera in Cuttack, India
The repartition of 26 crew members, including 17 Bangladeshis -3 Russians and 6 Ukrainian , of the Mongolian sunken ship M.V.Black Rose, which sank off on 9th September near the Paradip port , by the authority has recently been challenged in a petition before the High Court on Monday.
Notably , the shipping agent of the sunken ship arranged all the necessary arrangement for the return of the 26 crew members on 9th November after the Director General of Shipping Mumbai allowed all the crew members to go to their countries.
According to sources, one Guru Prasad Mohanty ,a lawyer of the High Court and the Secretary of the state unit of PUCL in a petition before the High Court stated that the presence of all the crew members was necessary for the further investigation of the case as the sunken Mongolian ship Black Rose earlier produced fake and fabricated insurance papers and other documents to anchor the ship in the Paradip port.. Repartition of the crew members resulted in loss of vital evidence of eye-witnesses in the event of any criminal proceeding and investigation under SS360 to 368 and any possible action under Section 370 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. Non-availability of the eye-witnesses and the master of the ship, Igor Lebedev ,may also prejudice the measures taken or to be taken by the Central Government under SS.356(J )and 356K of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
It appears that the government have not been involved in the process of repatriation and no clearance has been taken from them. So long as investigation under SS. 360 to 368 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 is not completed and so long as measures under SS.356J and 356K of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 are still impending no clearance could be given by the government, added Guru Prasad Mohanty in the petition..
The repatriation raises reasonable suspicion of criminal conspiracy to suppress or destroy evidence in the case and may be part of a larger conspiracy to prevent unearthing of smuggling activities and possibly sinister, covert and illegal operations going on in Paradip and other Indian ports.
Guru Prasad Mohanty ,the petitioner, also urged the court to prevent the rescued mariners from leaving India, and if they have already left, steps may be taken by the union government and PPT to ensure their attendance during the statutory inquiries under SS.360 to 368 and 370 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 and for facilitating action under SS.356J and 356K by supplying necessary and vital information to the Central Government.
Petitioner also stated before the High Court that the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) ignoring the Merchant Shipping Act and Rules and Regulations allowed rogue ships like the sunken ship Black Rose to enter into Paradip Port and such ships are being used for smuggling mineral ores out of the country in unholy alliance with corrupt officials of the PPT and others. The petitioner has further pointed out that this clandestine and illegal activity has been going on for a long time and requires investigation through the appropriate investigating agency.
