Noida: Sailor missing, kin seek government help

NOIDA: The Noida-based family of a merchant Navy sailor, who was aboard a ship in Iranian waters and has been missing for the past week, has sought the government’s intervention in tracing him.
Ayush Chaudhary (22) had been hired by a Dubai-based private company to work in merchant ships in May this year. His family said representatives of the company had called them up on July 16 and told them he had fallen off a ship during high tide and had been swept away. Ayush’s sister has tweeted that the company’s response was “late and illogical”, and sought help from the government. She also pointed out that Ayush’s name still figured on the shipping ministry’s website, which indicated he was alive.
The family has claimed that the external affairs ministry has shown little interest in responding to their request. But an official in the ministry denied the allegation, saying they had been in touch with the family and the authorities in Iran. “The ministry is aware of the case. We are in touch with the family and the authorities in Iran,” the official said.
“We last spoke to Ayush on July 12. Four days later, on July 16, we were told over phone that he had fallen off the ship. But there are discrepancies in what the report mentions and what they told us over phone. It is a case of human trafficking and we are sure our brother is alive,” said Shaily, Ayush’s sister.
Ayush had been hired through two recruitment companies in Noida and Delhi and the family claimed they had paid Rs 5 lakh for that. According to Shaily, her brother landed in Dubai on May 4 and was taken to a 1984-built merchant ship instead of the oil ship that had been mentioned during recruitment. Shaily said the firm told Ayush it would be paying him only $250 (around Rs 17,000) a month instead of $900 (around Rs 62,000) promised.
“Company officials called us and spoke in Arabic. When we couldn’t understand, someone spoke to us in Hindi. He said Ayush had fallen off during high tide. A rope was thrown to save him, but he could not hold on to it as a huge tide swept him away. The phone then got disconnected and we have not been able to reach them since,” said Shaily.
Shaily listed discrepancies in the report that the company sent to them and the July 16 phone call. “On the call, officials said the incident happened on July 16, but the report mentions July 15. They said the sea was rough, but the report says moderate climate. They told us he was on duty when he fell off, but the report states he was off duty,” she said. The family has approached Noida police chief Vaibhav Krishna and tweeted about the missing sailor. Krishna said he was helping them in every way possible.
Shaily said the family has been in touch with the embassies of Iran and UAE.