‘Missing’ Odisha merchant navy cadet’s family meet CM, seek proper probe

Bhubaneswar: Six days after merchant navy cadet Sarthak Mohapatra from Bhadrak district allegedly went missing from a container vessel near Mauritius, his family met chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday seeking his intervention in the case.Sarthak’s mother, Rasmita Mohapatra, said the vessel EA Jersey’s operator, Anglo-Eastern, informed them that the onboard search operation concluded on Saturday and that the ship has since resumed its voyage towards Singapore. According to the company’s initial information to the family, Sarthak was last seen entering his room on Feb 3 morning.“The vessel has been searched primarily by crew members. We have been told that a detailed investigation by security personnel will be conducted only after the ship reaches Singapore, which will take another eight to ten days,” she said.Rasmita added that they have urged the company to divert the vessel to the nearest port to facilitate a thorough search by official investigation teams. “But that has not been done so far, even as the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mauritius, continues its search operation. Sarthak was an experienced sailor. Prior to this, he worked in three more vessels,” she said.The family members said they have received two separate communications from the company. While the first letter stated that Sarthak was last seen entering his room on the vessel, the second claimed that he was last seen stepping out of his room with a mobile phone, raising serious questions over the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.While the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) under the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways has initiated a coordinated multi-agency response in the case, the All-India Seafarers Union demanded an independent DGS-led investigation into Sarthak’s disappearance, seizure of all evidence on the vessel, and the release of CCTV footage.