Rupesh Samant

Panaji, Oct 14: Harbour Coastal Security police station has charge-sheeted the owners of Arya Ship Charters Private Limited and others in connection with the naphtha carrier MT Nu-Shi Nalini, which had drifted from Mormugao Port Trust to the area around Raj Bhavan, Dona Paula earlier this year.

Police inspector Siddhanth Shirodkar, after completing the investigation in this high-profile case, had presented the charge-sheet before the local court against several accused including Pawan Arya and Punit Arya of Arya Ship Charters Private Limited.

The charge sheet mentions that the accused towed their unmanned vessel MT Nu-Shi Nalini to MPT containing in its cargo of approximately 2,300 tonnes of naphtha. The ship was involved in a fire incident at Kochi Port wherein one marine engineer had succumbed to the injuries.

The police said that the accused allowed the ship which was berthed at MPT to drift into the sea, neglecting the bad weather report issued by the port authorities, guidelines issued by high court of Bombay and guidelines issued by MPT, thereby knowingly committed the act endangering human lives and committed an offence under section 280 of Indian Penal Code.