3-member judicial panel to probe Kerala boat accident

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/KOCHI: The cabinet on Wednesday appointed retired high court judge justice V K Mohanan as the chairman of the commission to conduct a judicial probe into the Tanur boat tragedy that took 22 lives.
Inland waterways authority of India retired chief engineer Neelakantan Unni and Kerala waterways and infrastructure limited chief engineer Suresh Kumar will be commission members as technical experts. The government had announced Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the deceased from the chief minister's distress relief fund earlier. Another Rs 25 lakh was also announced for the treatment of the injured and towards the expenses of the rescue operations. In addition, the cabinet decided to bear the expenses of further treatment of the injured.
Meanwhile, a meeting chaired by ports minister Ahmad Devarkovil was held to undertake urgent measures in the inland waterways sector in the wake of the tragedy. Special squads will be formed for conducting inspections to ensure that all boats that are undertaking services in inland water are strictly following the rules. Steps will be taken to ensure that the boats are displaying the registration details, maximum number of persons who can board the boat and other details in a manner properly visible to the public. Ports department will also consider forming Jagratha Samithis by including concerned local body members in places where boat services are being undertaken. Till the new rules for Inland Vessels Act 2021 are framed, the old rules of Kerala Inland Vessels 2010 will be followed.
Boat driver arrested
Meanwhile, boat driver (Srank), Dineshan, 49, was arrested by a special police team led by the DYSP of Tanur in connection with the Tanur boat tragedy. With the arrest of Dineshan, a Tanur native, the total number of persons arrested rose to five. The boat owner Nassar Paattarakath and three others who helped him escape after the accident have already been arrested.
According to police, Dineshan, who managed to escape from the capsized boat, had gone into hiding and was taken into custody from Tirur on Tuesday night. The search for the one more accused, who was the boat staff, is on, said police.
Meanwhile, a team from the police's forensic wing conducted an examination of the boat on Wednesday and collected evidence. State human rights commission member K Byjunath also visited the accident spot on Wednesday. The commission has already registered a suo motu case. Byjunath said a detailed report would be submitted to the government soon.
BJP state prez visits spot
BJP state president K Surendran visited the accident spot on Wednesday. After the visit, he told the media that ministers V Abdurahiman and P A Mohamed Riyas were also responsible for the accident as they had received complaints regarding the illegal boat service earlier.
"The authorities did not act against the boat service as the boat owner was a close associate of Abdurahiman. Government should conduct a detailed probe into the official negligence in preventing the accident," he said.