Harni accident: SIT reconstructs fatal ride, boat sinks during buoyancy test

With an uneven distribution of about 1,200 kg of weight, including 250 kg on the deck, the police recreated the scene of how water seeped into the boat while it was navigating a roundabout and caused it to overturn. On January 18 as well, the total weight on the boat during the ride was about 1,200 kg, of which 250 kg were on the deck.

Inspector C B Tandel from Harni police station said, “We took the boat out for a ride, carrying the exact weight that it was carrying on January 18. We placed sandbags in places where passengers were made to sit… The operators had added 250 kg of weight on the deck, which should be left vacant to ensure buoyancy. It had caused the boat to become unstable while navigating a turn…”

Tandel said a detailed report will be submitted by the forensic experts a few days later. The police investigation has already said that the children had panicked after water had seeped into the boat and at least 15 passengers were not wearing life jackets.

The SIT, meanwhile, on Thursday arrested three more accused in the case – Nutan Shah, Vatsal Shah and Vaishakhi Shah – family members of co-accused Paresh Shah, who is currently in judicial custody.

Paresh, who was in charge of day-to-day operations at Lake Zone, is a partner at Kotia Projects that was given the contract by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation to develop and operate Lake Zone at Harni. With this, 19 people have been arrested in the case.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Panna Momaya, a supervising officer of the SIT, said: “The family had begun facing trouble as the police had initiated the process to freeze their bank accounts. On Thursday, after receiving a tip-off that they were arriving in Vadodara to consult a doctor for Nutan Shah, we arrested them from Dena Chowkdi.”

“While Nutan and Vaishakhi are partners having 5 per cent share in Kotia Projects, Vatsal Shah has a 10 per cent partnership… Vatsal is also a signatory in the contract signed for the boat operations (sub-let to co-accused Nilesh Jain),” she added.

Maintaining that the family had been evading arrest and hiding in Rajasthan and Bharuch, Momaya said: “For the last four days, they were in Bharuch and earlier, in Rajasthan. We have also begun the process to attach the properties and freeze bank accounts of the last accused in the case, Dharmin Bhatani, who is yet to be arrested.”