The Kerala Lok Ayukta has opened an inquiry into the accusation that State Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) member secretary Sekhar Kuriakose had failed to forewarn the government of Cyclone Ockhi that lashed the coast on November 30 and claimed the lives of scores of seagoing fishers.
A division bench headed by Lok Ayukta Pius C. Kuriakose and Upa Lok Ayukta A.K. Basheer issued notice to Mr. Kuriakose, the Chief Secretary (CS), and the State Police Chief (SPC) to respond to the charges raised by S. Sunil Kumar, a resident of Mayyanad in Kollam.
Mr. Sunil Kumar alleged in his deposition that Mr. Kuriakose and family were touring Thailand on government expense when he received the first warning about the impending cyclone on November 28 afternoon.
He deposed that the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information (INCOIS) and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had informed Mr. Kuriakose that a robust low-pressure area over the sea had rapidly intensified. The agencies sent him the latest satellite images of the potent weather system and predicted high seas and a gale force of at least 65 km per hour. They also warned against fishers setting out to sea in the face of the fast incoming storm.
Mr. Sunil Kumar alleged that Mr. Kuriakose did not take timely action. He did not communicate the critical information to the Chief Minister or to any other top official.
The petitioner said that Mr Kuriakose arrived in Kerala on November 30 and posed as if he had just received the warning. He issued a relatively low-grade alert, Orange, instead of a more serious one.
Mr. Sunil Kunar said the petitioner’s actions had endangered the lives of thousands of fishers who set out to sea ignorant of the incoming disaster. Many never returned home. Hundreds of coastal families lost their livelihood. Families lost their sole earners, forcing many to survive on government rations.
Mr. Sunil Kumar requested that the court investigate Mr. Kuriakose on charges of manslaughter and criminal negligence. He also sought a vigilance inquiry into the official’s foreign tours. The judges said they would hear the case again on March 9, 2018.
