Barge Mishap: FIR against Captain for culpable homicide

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police have registered an FIR into the death of at least 60 people following the sinking of the Barge Papaa-305 in the Arabian Sea. The FIR charged culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligence on the Captain of the vessel and others.

The Barge Chief Engineer Rahman Shaikh gave a statement against the Captain where he stated the Captain was negligent in obeying the weather alert.

The development came two days after the police launched its probe based on an accidental death report to ascertain why the barge allegedly failed to adhere to safety norms despite warnings of the impending Cyclone Tauktae which wreaked havoc on the country's west coast last Sunday onwards.

Besides culpable homicide not amounting to murder, the barge master and others are also charged with common intentions, negligent acts causing hurt to others, etc, said Mumbai Police spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner of Police S. Chaitanya.

A spokesperson for Afcons Infrastructure, which leads the consortium that had chartered the barge said that it will provide immediate relief of Rs 1 lakh to all survivors and Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased or missing.

The deceased, including its employees, would get a total compensation equivalent to the balance period of service up to 10 years' service combined with ex-gratia and insurance, which could range between Rs 35 lakh to Rs 75 lakh per family of the deceased.

The barge – which had 261 people on board and sank around 7 pm on Monday after its anchors were snapped by gale-force winds caused by Cyclone Tauktae.