Jabalpur, May 5 (PTI) A court in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur on Tuesday took cognisance of the cruise boat tragedy that claimed the lives of 13 persons in the district’s Bargi Dam reservoir last week, and directed the police to register an FIR.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) D P Sutrakar said the “failure” of the cruise boat driver and other crew members to make any effort to rescue the drowning passengers constitutes an attempt to commit culpable homicide.
The court directed the Bargi police station to register the FIR within two days.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized on April 30, killing 13 persons, including women and children, while 28 people were rescued. The state government has ordered a probe into the incident.
In its order, the court said that based on the reports published in newspapers and social media, it has learned that the cruise boat’s driver was operating the vessel inappropriately, which resulted in the death of several people when it capsized.
The driver of the cruise boat escaped unhurt, leaving the passengers aboard to drown. His failure to make any effort to rescue them constitutes an attempt to commit culpable homicide under sections 106 (causing death by rash or negligent acts) and 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), it said.
If an FIR is not registered and an investigation is not conducted into the case, anyone operating a cruise ship or boat in the future will abandon people to drown in the event of an untoward incident, and this behaviour will likely be repeated, the court added.
The court order said that in order to prevent such incidents, it is taking suo motu cognisance and ordering the registration of an FIR against the driver and other crew members present on the boat at the time of the incident.
The order stated that the court commends those who rescued the drowning victims on the cruise boat.
It also directed the Bargi police station in-charge to inform the court of the registration of the FIR within two days. PTI COR MAS NP
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