Captain sent to judicial custody

[1]

G.C. Pereira, 49, captain of the merchant ship Prabhu Daya that collided with the fishing boat Don I off the Alappuzha coast on March 1, killing five fishermen, was remanded into judicial custody for 14 days on Wednesday.

Remand to Pereira, the third accused in the incident was ordered by the Ambalappuzha first class judicial magistrate, V. Udhayakumar.

Pereira, who was arrested by the Kerala police in Chennai on Monday but could not be brought to shore as the ship needed a master, was sent to Alappuzha sub-jail until March 27.

Pereira was produced before the magistrate at 2.30 pm by the special police under heavy security. Security was further tightened by a team of Ambalappuzha police led by circle inspector P.B. Baby. Pereira who comes from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh has been charged under section 304 A of the IPC.

A huge gathering of local people was seen on the court premises while the remand was declared. The crowd shouted slogans against the accused but nothing untoward occurred.

Earlier, Mayur Virendra Kumar, the second accused was sent to judicial custody for 14 days. The court later pronounced a verdict, sending him into police custody for four days so that more evidence could be gathered.

Mayur, who was sent to Ambalappuzha on Tuesday, is still in police custody. The police lodged the request following the allegation of Sugathan, father of the first accused Prashobh, who is being treated in Trincomalee after he fell off the deck while the ship was en route to Chennai from Sri Lanka.