Captain arrested in fatal high seas hit-n-run case

gCaptain -

Police from the Indian state of Kerala on Monday arrested Gordon Charles Pereira, captain of the Singapore-flagged bulk-carrier M/V Prabhu Daya that was allegedly involved in a fatal high seas hit-n-run with an Indian fishing trawler off the Kerala coast on March 1, killing five fisherman. The arrest comes after a Madras High Court today dismissed a bail plea filed by Pereira saying that the investigation should lie within the ship itself, not the crew.

The police also allege that crew members of Prabhu Daya, including the captain, may have pushed Prasobh Sugathan, the vessels second officer, overboard following the collision.

Sugathan, who is the first accused in the hit-n-run case, was reportedly in charge of the vessel at the time of the accident and was first thought to have jumped overboard in an apparent suicide attempt following the collision.

Sugathan was picked up by a Sri Lankan fishing boat the next day with minor injuries.

Investigators also note that the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) of the M/V Prabhu Daya may have been tampered with as it is missing vital information from a 12-hour period when the vessel may have collided with the fishing trawler and the second officer went mission, further raising the suspicions of foul play.

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