Missing trawler case: Investigation into kidnapping concluded

Team Udayavani, Jan 19, 2019, 2:33 AM IST

Udupi: It is learnt that the investigation into the possible kidnap or hijacking of the deep sea trawler ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’ has almost completed and no leads in this direction have been found. Now the investigation is centralized towards the possibility of an accident.

The 6 teams of local fishermen, Udupi police, coast guard and the Indian Navy have returned back after having conducted investigation at various locations along Maharashtra and Goa border. Other than the finding of two fish containers which belonged to the deep sea trawler and were being used by Maharashtra fishermen, no other important lead has been found, inform sources.

SONAR search concluded?

In order to confirm if the trawler had sunk, SONAR has been used to detect any wreckage in a radius of 25-30 nautical miles from Malwan region in Maharashtra. The search was started on Jan 13 and is being continued.

What is the reason behind navy ship suffering damage?

The state government’s chief secretary had given an order to give a report behind the damage sustained by an Indian Navy ship which was going towards Maharashtra from Kochi. It is being said that the primary aim of the current investigation is to find out if the damage to the ship which has occurred on the hull beneath the waterline is due to coming in contact with a boat which was sunk within the water or due to some other reason.

If the boat had sunk due to an accident what would be the cause for it? Did the boat collided with a tourist ship or was it resultant to some technical difficulties are some of the questions needing answers. It has been confirmed that ‘Suvarna Tribhuja’ which left for deep sea fishing with 6 other trawlers had returned back to the port after a couple of hours due to a technical problem, got the problem rectified before returning back into the deep waters again. When it returned back to the deep sea after repair, it not only reached the other 6 boats but also crossed them went ahead. There is suspicion that the boat might have faced technical problems again later, inform sources.

No definite information: SP

SONAR search is being conducted. It is impossible to comment on what might have happened to the boat. The helicopter can locate only that which floats. Therefore, the helicopter search has now been stopped. At this phase, definite information cannot be given, said the SP.

“The report provided by the Indian Navy does not have complete information. If the location where the ship sustained damage due to the sunk boat is known, the wreckage can be confirmed using the SONAR. MLA Raghupati Bhat and Minister Sadananda Gowda will be meeting the defence minister in Delhi on Friday to put pressure for an investigation in this connection,” said Satish Kunder, president, Malpe fishrmen’s association