55 days after death,deck cadet’s body reaches home

A relative said the family will now fight for insurance for accidental death. Prajwal was working for Dubai-based Salem Al Makrani Cargo Company and was deployed on Sandy III vessel,when heavy cargo reportedly fell on him while working on the jetty at Umm Qasr Port in Iraq,causing his death on September 17,2011.

The cargo company brought the body to Dubai from Iraq. The body was not cleared from Dubai as there were errors in the death certificate issued in Iraq. Prajwal’s family said Iraqi authorities had mentioned his religion as Sikh though he was Hindu.

Dubai officials wanted Prajwal’s death certificate corrected for clearing the body. Mohan Naidu,a Dubai-based relative of Prajwal,who came to Pune for the last rites,said,“The body was stuck in Dubai for over a month. Nothing much was happening. But due to pressure following media reports,the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA),Director General (DG) of Shipping,Mumbai,the Indian consulate in Dubai and Indian Embassy in Iraq cleared administrative hurdles in Iraq and got another death certificate from Iraq.”

“This certificate again had an error. It only carried surname Pujari. The full name was not mentioned… However,the Indian consulate in Iraq also issued a death certificate with proper details. We hope it would help us in claiming insurance for Prajwal’s family due to his accidental death on duty,” Naidu said. The certificate mentioned “fractures,tissue damage and massive bruising”.

Prajwal’s uncle Shankar Pujari said,“The body reached Mumbai around 4 am on Friday by an Air India plane. Then we brought it to Pune around 10.30 am in an ambulance. “

“The wait was a very bad period for the family,especially for Prajwal’s parents. Every moment of these 55 days was extremely painful,” said a neighbour.

Hundreds of local residents gathered at Prajwal’s house at Maruti Nagar in Wadgaonsheri.