Mumbai: Amratlal Solanki (64) and Mitali Solanki (33), the father and sister of seafarer Dixit Solanki (32), who was killed in a suspected missile attack on merchant vessel MKD Vyom off the Oman coast on March 1, have petitioned Bombay high court alleging the Central govt’s inaction in repatriating his mortal remains. Their plea seeking redressal will be heard on Monday, April 6, before a division bench headed by chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar. Solanki, who worked as an oiler in the engine room, is believed to be the first Indian casualty in the ongoing conflict in West Asia.When contacted, an official from the office of DG Shipping said, “We are coordinating to bring back the remains of Late Shri Dixit to India on priority.”The petition stated “several representations” were made to various authorities, including the President and the Prime Minister, seeking immediate intervention for recovery and repatriation of mortal remains. On March 24, the ship captain asked DG Shipping to seek assistance from the Indian embassy in the UAE to issue the death certificate and repatriate the mortal remains. There was considerable delay of 23 days on the part of the authorities at the UAE to repatriate the mortal remains of the deceased, said the petition filed through advocates SB Talekar and Madhavi Ayyapan.On March 4, Amrutlal lodged a written complaint with the Sailors’ Union of India against the shipping company for its “non-responsive attitude” towards his grievance. On March 30, the Recruitment and Placement of Seafarers informed Solanki’s father that they had been constantly following up with the Indian embassy in the UAE; however, unfortunately, no response was yet received from the embassy, the petition said.The petition said the “Head of Chancery and Consul (RTI, Consular and MADAD), Consulate General of India, Dubai,” for the first time informed the petitioners that an information was received from the shipping agency on March 17 that after several attempts in last few days, the team has been able to recover his skeletal remains. It said that the shipping agency will hand over the recovered remains to Sharjah Police for necessary formalities for issuance of the death certificate but nothing happened. The petition questioned if the petitioners can be denied receiving the mortal remains of the deceased family member and perform rites guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Navi Mumbai: Two passengers, including a woman advocate, were killed and 38 others were injured after a speeding private bus toppled sideways along Mumbai-Goa highway in the Sukeli ghat section near Nagothane in Raigad district in the wee hours of Friday. Nagothane police have booked the driver of the bus of Omkar Tours and Travels, who was also injured in the incident, for causing death by negligence and rash or negligent drivingThe accident, which took place around 2.45am, disrupted the traffic movement towards Goa for around two hours till all injured passengers, some of them critically, were rushed to Nagothane Primary Health Centre, Roha sub-district hospital and MGM Hospital, Kamothe.API Sachin Kulkarni of Nagothane police station identified the deceased as Panvel resident Neelam Vibhute, 40, and Kamothe resident Naeem Shaikh, 33. Vibhute was declared ‘brought dead’ at Roha Civil Hospital, and Shaikh at Nagothane Civil Hospital.Kulkarni said, “Neelam Vibhute and her husband Vaibhav (42), who also suffered injuries, were part of a 22-member group heading to Goa for a trip. All the passengers were fast asleep in the sleeper coach bus past midnight, when the bus driver, Hemant Patil (33), a resident of Kankavali in Sindhudurg district, who allegedly driving rashly, lost control over the wheels on the upward gradient in the Sukeli ghat section and the bus toppled sideways. Many passengers got trapped in the bus and sustained injuries.” Local villagers rushed to the spot to help police and NGO members in the rescue operation.A police source said that a motorist behind the bus had lodged a complaint on Red Bus app informing about the sleeper coach bus being driven recklessly in the Sukeli ghat and after about 20 minutes, it tipped over. The motorist spoke to some of the injured passengers, who said that they had told the bus driver to slow down, but he ignored their requests, resulting in the fatal accident.Patil, who has been admitted at Alibaug civil hospital, has been booked under relevant sections of BNS for causing death by negligence, rash or negligent driving on a public way that endangers human life or poses a risk of injury to others and act endangering life or personal safety of others, along with Motor Vehicle Acts for dangerous driving, said Kulkarni.