With better future on their minds, 243 passengers set sail for unknown location; five months later, they are untraceable

8 | Odisha- 824 in 2017 (317 in 2016) (Image: PTI)

With the hope of finding a better future in a foreign land, around 243 people had set sail for an unknown destination in a fishing boat in January. While their journey had started from Munambam in Kerala's Eranakulam district, their current location remains untraceable, and, according to a report by The Times of India, chances of a breakthrough are slim.

According to reports, the boat set sail on January 12, with 184 of the 243 people on board hailing from Ambedkar Nagar colony in New Delhi, according to a News18 report. The ToI report states that a number of those on the boat were Sri Lankan Tamils doing odd jobs in Delhi.

"Last year, a resident of our area, Ravinder Kumar, told us he sent 80 relatives to New Zealand. They had found homes there, were earning well and sending their children to school," Kanagalingam, a number of whose relatives were on the boat, told the newspaper.

The report states that Kanagalingam, along with his brother Padmanabhan, took loans and sold off jewellery in order to collect the funding required for the journey, which amounted up to Rs 3 lakh per head.

"My sons told me they were going somewhere in Tamil Nadu and left home in mid-December. It was only after news reports, suggesting that they left the country illegally, started appearing that we came to know about the plan," Kasturi, whose two sons, their spouses and children were on the boat, told News18.

"It has been five months, where are they?" an anxious Kasturi asked. That is a mystery the authorities have been unable to solve. Officials of the special investigation team formed to probe the matter told The Times of India that they have hit a "dead end" regarding the case.

"We don't know where they landed. We arrested 10 people but were unable to catch the kingpins – Sreekanthan and Selvan – of the smuggling operation. It's possible they left in the boat too," lead investigation officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Ernakulam rural, MJ Sojan, told the newspaper, adding that it is impossible for police to find the boat, christened Dhaya Mata-2.

"The boat crossed our jurisdiction within hours of leaving Munambam. All countries which could have been the destination were alerted after Indian authorities got the wind of it," Sojan said. "Interpol sent out a Blue-Corner notice, one of the eight notices issued to locate people or obtain information about them," he added.

The newspaper report states that despite having a significant force of Navy, Coast Guard, coastal police and Marine Enforcement Wing in the region, the boat managed to go off the radar. Officials admitted to the newspaper that it was a setback for the state and central intelligence agencies. A chargesheet is yet to be filed since no solid information is available as of yet.

"Until official confirmation, we can’t tell anything. We are keenly waiting for hints from foreign countries. If they already reached somewhere that has the blue corner notice, it will help us trace them," a police official involved in the investigation told News18.

Meanwhile, the relatives of those on the boat have demanded the government's intervention in the matter, news agency ANI reported.