The family of Palash Balsetwar, who on Tuesday received the dead body of the 20-year-old deck cadet who lost his life when his ship sank on the night of March 15 near Iran, has demanded strict action against dubious employment agents. They said no family deserves to suffer in the manner in which theirs suffered.
Palash died when his ship, the 32-year-old MV Mashhour, sank late on the night of March 15 near Iran. The ship is said to have tipped over while halting between the waters.
“The government should bring stringent norms so no one like Palash becomes a victim of having to go abroad and ends up working in junk ships. Government has still not thought about people who are stuck in Iran and it should act strictly on agents who are not authorised,” said Payal Balsetwar, sister of Palash.
Palash’s father Dutta Balsetwar had paid lakhs to a dubious employment agent, hoping to secure a good job on a safe vessel for his son.
Palash’s body was departed for Mumbai from Tehran on Tuesday morning after Iranian officials gave clearances for the same. From Mumbai, the body was flown to Aurangabad, which is Palash’s hometown after taking necessary clearances from the officials at Mumbai airport.
Shipping activists have also alleged that the directorate general (shipping) is encouraging fake agents to continue with placements rackets for employment on cargo ships in Iran, as fake agents rampantly lure youths with jobs. Associations such as Forward Sea Men’s Union of India along with various independent activists have also written to both the shipping and external affairs ministries to take strict action against dubious agents.
However, Palash’s family has demanded that the Iranian officials should update them on the investigations they were carrying out to know the exact cause of the sinking. “We are not yet updated or informed about the status of investigations which the Iranian officials carried out,” added Payal.
The Asian Age has been reporting that the ministry of external affairs and Indian High Commission at Tehran had cited the vacations in Iran due to Navroz as the reason behind the delay in getting the dead body back to India. It had said that the body could be sent only after officers resume office on April 4.
