Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Congress-JD(S) MP candidate Pramod Madhwaraj has alleged that the Suvarna Tribhuja, a fishing boat from Udupi that went missing in December 2018, capsized after it was hit by an Indian navy ship.
The wreckage of the missing fishing boat was found by the Indian Navy on Friday, more than five months after it went missing off the coast of Goa on December 16, 2018.
Speaking at a press conference in Udupi, Pramod stated that the INS Kochi was damaged around the same time off the coast of Maharashtra. "INS Kochi has been damaged at a height of 6.5 feet and this is something that the Indian Navy has accepted. So why did the Navy not investigate whether the INS Kochi was damaged because it hit the fishing boat? Why has there been no report clarifying this when the case of the missing fishermen from Udupi has become a national issue?" asked Pramod.
He stated that the Indian Navy had informed the Udupi police on January 22 that INS Kochi was damaged. "The Navy told the police that INS Kochi was damaged in Maharashtra while the fishing boat went missing off the coast of Goa, and there is a geographical distance between Goa and Maharashtra," stated Pramod.
He asked the Indian Navy to conduct an enquiry for "covering up" the incident and also demanded compensation for the families of seven fishermen who were on-board the fishing boat. "We had written a letter to CM Kumaraswamy and the Defence Minister that we have proof that INS Kochi has caused problems and hence, fishermen families should be given compensation of Rs. 25 lakh. I have also asked for a judicial enquiry in the Supreme Court about the issue," added Pramod.
He further alleged that the conspiracy to cover up the issue was directly linked to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
I stand by my allegation that INS Kochi has hit our missing boat on 13 December in maharastra sea killing 7 fishermen . The damage caused to the naval ship is shown in pic . I demand judicial enquiry headed by retired Supreme Court judge into the delay in exposing this murder. pic.twitter.com/9vldt8C1Rw
— Pramod Madhwaraj (@PMadhwaraj) May 3, 2019
Udupi MLA and BJP leader Raghupati Bhat also urged that an enquiry should be conducted to confirm whether the capsized fishing boat was hit by INS Kochi. “Our aim is to get maximum compensation for the families of the seven fishermen. If a naval ship had hit the boat, then the Navy would have to pay the compensation. We will take a fishermen’s delegation to Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman soon," he told The Hindu.
However, he asked his counterpart Pramod to furnish proof that INS Kochi had caused the fishing boat to capsize.
ಮೀನುಗಾರರನ್ನು ನೌಕಾಸೇನೆ ಕೊಲೆಮಾಡಿದೆ ಎಂದು ನಿರಾಧಾರವಾಗಿ ಆರೋಪಿಸಿದ ಮೈತ್ರಿ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿ @PMadhwaraj ಕೂಡಲೇ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ಸಮೇತ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟನೆ ನೀಡಬೇಕು.
— Chowkidar MLA Raghupathi Bhat BJP (@RaghupathiBhat) May 4, 2019
ಇಲ್ಲವಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡಲೇ ಸೇನೆಯ ಬಳಿ ಬೇಷರತ್ ಕ್ಷಮೆಯಾಚಿಸಬೇಕು.
ದೇಶದ್ರೋಹದ ಪರಮಾವಧಿ!
The fishing boat with seven fishermen on-board last made contact with six other boats from Udupi, which were fishing in the same area, on December 16 at around 1 am.
The boat and the fishermen on it were unreachable after this point. Six fishermen – Damodar (40) from Malpe, Lakshman (45), Sathish (35), Ravi (27), Harish (28), and Ramesh (30) from Bhatkal - were on-board the boat along with the boat-owner Chandrashekhar. The fishermen are still missing although authorities have stated that their chances of survival are slim.
Thousands of fishermen held a protest in Udupi in January, demanding that authorities intensify the search for the missing boat.