The family of a 25-year-old sailor from Paravur near Punnapra in Alappuzha who went missing while working on a merchant ship last month will file a habeas corpus petition before the Kerala High Court on Monday, seeking a directive for the government to locate him.
Vishnu Babu, who was working as a trainee wiper on SSI Resolute operated by Densay Marine Private Limited, Chennai, was reported missing when the vessel sailed through the Strait of Malacca on the night of July 17, 2024. The ship was heading to China from Odisha.
Babu Thirumala, the father of Vishnu, said that despite the family submitting numerous petitions to both Union and State authorities, no concrete action had been taken to locate his son.
“We have submitted complaints to several officials, including a Union Minister and State authorities. It has been 32 days since my son went missing and we have yet to receive a single phone call from a government official, not even to offer us support. We have lost faith in the government machinery, which is why we decided to approach the High Court. We want to know what happened to Vishnu,” Mr. Babu said.
According to the family, Vishnu last contacted his parents Babu and Sindhu a few hours before he went missing. After assuming he had fallen into the sea, a search was conducted under the aegis of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Malaysia. The search was called off after 96 hours. The ship’s crew was questioned by the police in Singapore but was later released without any charges.
The family said the search was conducted in a relatively small area and should have been expanded to a wider area.
