Missing sailor: Navy rules out suicide or foul play

The findings are in the confidential Board of Inquiry report of the Navy (a copy of which is with The Indian Express) that investigated into the circumstances that led to the disappearance of Prem Prakash from INS Godavari,a guided missile frigate.

“The Board did not come across any evidence to suggest that PO Prem Prakash could have committed suicide nor was there any indication of the sailor having been the victim of foul play. It is thus the Board’s opinion that suicide and foul play can be ruled out¿,” the report mentions in its summary.

The report states that Prakash had gone to take rounds of his part of the ship at 0130 hrs (1 am) on April 12 after the ship encountered bad weather. “The upper decks were wet and slippery and there was also the possibility of static charge in the upper deck fittings¿It is the board’s opinion that the sailor fell overboard whilst possibly inspecting the Helo Hangar Top (helicopter hangar) at this time,” mentions the report.

The report also negates the assumption that Prakash fell from the ship after 0805 hrs (8.05 am) on April 12 as reported earlier from initial statements of two sailors who claimed to have sighted him at that time. “The probability of the sailor falling overboard after 0805 hrs as ascertained by the ship,though possible,is highly unlikely,” it mentions.

However,Prem Prakash’s wife Usha Prakash Shukla believes the Navy is not revealing all the details. “The ship’s Commanding Officer (CO) had announced that nobody was allowed to go to the upper deck because of bad weather. He always used to follow orders,” she added.

Captain Manohar Nambiar,spokesperson,Ministry of Defence (MoD),Mumbai,did not comment on the matter. “Whatever conclusion the board has come up with and if it has been approved,is the view of the Navy,” he said.

The Board had been set up on April 16,after an order from the office of the Chief of the Naval Staff,Ministry of Defence (Navy). It had three members headed by Commander K S Vikramaditya from unit INS Vindhyagiri of the Western Naval Command.

“The Board commenced the investigation based on the consideration of suicide,foul play or an accident being the probable cause. The case was unusual in that there were no witnesses. Hence the Board carried out investigation across a wide spectrum of the ship’s company involving more that 1/3 rd of the present strength onboard,” says the report.

The report contains more than 300 pages of 104 witness statements and 77 exhibits.