Captain of barge P305 booked for negligence

MUMBAI: Mumbai Police have filed a case against the captain of the barge, P305, that sank in the Arabian Sea amid Cyclone Tauktae leading to the loss of at least 51 lives, after the engineer of the barge filed a complaint accusing him of ignoring an alert issued by the meteorological department.

The first information report (FIR) has been lodged under sections 304(II) (an act done with knowledge that it is likely to cause death), 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the barge captain and others.

“We have registered a complaint against the captain (of the barge) and others on the basis of a statement given by chief engineer Rahman Shaikh who has

complained that an alert was issued by the meteorological department but was not taken seriously by the captain and others who should have moved the barge to a safer place,” said joint commissioner of police Vishwas Nangre Patil.