CBI to probe into 25-yr-old case of Navy sailor’s death

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over probe into the death of a sailor, Amar Ashok Paldhe, after his mother’s appeal in the Hyderabad high court.

The Indian Navy sailor drowned while attempting a high-altitude jump into the sea in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, on September 23, 1993. His body was found two days later.

Amar’s mother, Anuradha Paldhe, had been fighting a protracted legal battle to know the cause of her son’s death in the fatal incident during the training session.

Anuradha Paldhe and his father (now deceased) approached the Bombay high court in 1995, seeking to know exact cause of the sailor’s death.

The legal battle continued in different courts; from Bombay high court the matter went to Kakinada civil judge as naval authorities raised jurisdictional issue.

The court held that the death was resulted from the negligence of the authorities.

The Andhra Pradesh police probe into the death is incomplete even after 25-years.

A single-judge bench of the high court ordered the navy to reconstitute a fresh board of inquiry after one such inquiry could not ascertain cause of death.The navy, however, said that police at Kakinada should have investigated the incident to find out cause of death.

First Published: Apr 01, 2019 23:20 IST