Tanur (Malappuram): On May 8, a day after the leisure boat Atlantic sank in Malappuram's Poorapuzha River killing 22 persons, Tanur police arrested its owner Nassar Pattarakath (47). It was swift action going by the track record of Tanur Police.
In their remand report filed before a magistrate court, Tanur Police said they are 'convinced' Atlantic's owner 'profiteered from running an illegal boat service for the past 20 days'.
The report submitted by Tanur deputy superintendent of police V V Benny urged Parappanangadi judicial magistrate to remand Nassar in custody for 14 days 'lest he may influence and threaten witnesses and destroy evidence'.
Tanur police's new-found concern could have been appreciated more had they acted on the complaints from Tanur councillor K P Nisamudeen and local fishermen.
Atlantic — a fishing boat haphazardly converted to a vessel for leisure trips — started ferrying tourists flocking to Thooval Theeram, the estuary of Poorapuzha river on April 15, the day Vishu festival was celebrated.
The boat was charging Rs 100 per head and from Day 1, ferrying almost double its capacity of 22 persons. The sight of the overloaded vessel sent shivers down the spine of fishermen in the vicinity.
"Even when I was down with chickenpox, I telephoned Tanur's sub-inspector and informed him to take action against the illegal boat service," he said.
When the officer did not act, the councillor called the police station's landline phone and sought the intervention of the police. "I knew there would be crowding at Thooval Theeram on Eid ul-Fitr and asked the police to control the crowd or stop the service," he said.
Another fisherman and rival boat owner Nisar called '100' and reported the irregular service by Atlantic. "I called 100 because the police usually did not act on calls made to the station," he said.
On Eid ul-Fitr (April 22), Tanur police stopped the services of all four boats at Thooval Theeram: two eight-seater boats, which have all the documents and required licences; and Atlantic and 'Jai Hanuman', that have a shady past.
But the very next day, a Sunday, Atlantic and Jai Hanuman resumed their crowded service on the Poorapuzha River.
Sixteen days later, Atlantic sank killing 15 children, five women, and two men. Nine members from one house were wiped off.
Had the police acted on time, these lives could have been saved, said Ottampuram councillor Nisamudeen.
But after the tragedy, state police chief Anil Kant formed a special investigation team to investigate the case, and he included Malappuram district police chief Sujith Das S, Tanur DySP V V Benny, and Tanur station house officer Jeevan George in the team.
Anil Kant did not respond to a phone call made by Onmanorama.
"These officers should have never been in the investigation team. The boat accident happened because of their apathy," said councillor Nisamudeen.
"There should be action against those who ignored complaints against the boat service," said Justice J B Koshy, former chairman of Kerala State Human Rights Commission. "They cannot be part of the police investigation — those who flout rules, peddle money and influence and escape punishment," he said adding that the special investigation team should have only officers who are not linked to the case.
He also said that the Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia announced by the government for the families of the victims should be treated as solatium. "The compensation should come from the boat owner and the insurance company. The government should make them pay," he said.
Justice B Kemal Pasha said the fact that Tanur police stopped boat service on Eid al-Fitr is proof that the police were aware of the wrongdoings. "But the next day, they allowed the boat to resume service. I have credible information that Tanur police allowed Atlantic to resume service because of a phone call from Minister V Abdurahiman," he said.
Abdurahiman is the MLA from Tanur and Minister for Sports and Minority Welfare in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government. Till January, he was the minister for Fisheries and Harbour Engineering.
The minister's phone records can be checked for evidence of the call he made to the police station, Justice Pasha said.
He said the investigation should also unravel how a fishing boat was converted to a vessel for leisure trips, and how it got approval. "Similar accidents are waiting to happen in Kumarakom, Alappuzha, and Ernakulam if not promptly checked and corrected," he said.
How officials turn a blind eye to illegal boats
Sometime in October 2022, Abdul Shukkur and his wife from Parappanangadi, a municipal town next to Tanur, took a boat ride from Thooval Theeram. The boat was Kapico.
After the trip, Shukkur, a fisherman and part-time autorickshaw driver, wrote to the Malappuram Collector and the District Police Chief raising doubts about the stability of the boat. "I suspected the boat was illegally modified and did not have the required papers. And so I wanted the officials to investigate," he said.
District Police Chief Das did not reply.
On January 11, 2023, exactly after three months, the Malappuram collector replied to Shukkur saying Kapico was not in service 'now'.
The collector had forwarded his complaint to Tirur Tahsildar. "He inquired into the complaint. The boat with the name Kapico is now not in service at Thooval Theeram," the collector's letter said.
But in March, the white Kapico -- owned by Nissar Charath -- got a black makeover and was relaunched in Poorapuzha river as 'Jai Hanuman'.
On the evening of May 7, when the Atlantic sank, Shukkur was idling with his friends at Thooval Theeram and instantly recognised Jai Hanuman. "I told my friends that I had complained against the boat and the collector wrote to me saying it was not in service. What else can a common man do," he sighed.
Shukkur left Thooval Theeram around 6 pm and the Atlantic sank around 7.10 pm. "Jai Hanuman is in a better condition than Atlantic. So imagine how dangerous the boats are," he said.
Now, the boat is nameless as Charath had erased 'Jai Hanuman' from the hull.
Can fishing boats be modified for leisure trips? NO
Another government agency that is going to submit a report on the Atlantic accident is Kerala Maritime Board, formerly Port Department.
Maritime Board's chief executive officer T P Salim Kumar, an IRS officer, had intervened to set the ball rolling to register Atlantic with Port Authority.
Atlantic was a 15-seater fishing boat in its previous avatar. It was modified without permission at a Ponnani-based yard that is not registered under the Kerala Inland Vessels (KIV) Rules, 2010.
According to KIV rules, boats should be built or modified only at KIV-accredited yards, that too only after their designs from naval architects are approved.
Atlantic had flouted the rules and officials were reluctant to process his application for registration till Salim Kumar in February wrote to the Port Authority in Alappuzha and Beypore Registering Authority in Kozhikode, asking them to initiate a stability test after fining the boat Rs 10,000.
Salim Kumar told Onmanorama that he played by the book but refused to entertain further questions.
On Tuesday, The New Indian Express quoted a Kerala Maritime Board official as saying no rule prohibited the modification of a fishing boat into a passenger boat. The same report officially quoted Salim Kumar.
The Fisheries Department, however, disagrees with the Kerala Maritime Board.
Replying to an RTI query on January 25, 2023, the Malappuram Deputy Director of the Fisheries Department said: "According to Kerala Marine Fishing Regulation Act, fishing boats registered with the Fisheries Department cannot be modified and used for tourism".
The official was responding to a specific query from P P Rafi, a resident of Elaram Kadappuram in Tanur. Onmanorama has accessed the reply.
Yet, the 15-metre-long double-decker Atlantic went on to clear the stability test with a capacity of 22 passengers. It was, however, not permitted to ferry passengers on the upper deck.
According to the survey certificate, the 'serang' or the person who steers the boat is Praveen P. But the boat was helmed by one Dineshan. Tanur Police arrested him on Wednesday. He did not have a 'serang' licence.
Eventually, officials will conclude that the Atlantic sank only because of overcrowding. They will ignore their apathy and the red flags raised by residents.
