Boat triggered panic among locals, security agencies as no one was seen onboard it on Thursday; rope connecting boat to its anchor had snapped
The rescued man, Rafiq Shaikh
The carelessness of the owner of the boat Hira Devi, which was stranded in suspicious circumstances at Bhuigaon beach in Vasai on Thursday, left hundreds of policemen and other agencies including the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) as well as the Coast Guard on their toes for nearly 24 hours, as it was perceived as a security breach.
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The fisherfolk had alerted Vasai police on Thursday after they spotted the stranded boat. The police used the binoculars to watch for movement on board the suspicious boat but nothing could be ascertained. They alerted Coast Guard officials who pressed a helicopter into service to conduct an aerial survey to check for any suspicious movement. Also, one ship with its crew members was kept on standby nearby to tackle any untoward incident.
The boat he was sleeping in that had drifted. Pics/Hanif Patel
The Coast Guard ship could not reach closer to the suspicious boat as it was stranded where the seabed is rocky. The police as well as other agencies were on high alert and all the roads connected to Bhuigaon beach were sealed on Thursday evening.
The cops saw a man on board the suspicious boat on Friday morning. After a brief inquiry, the police learnt that the boat had drifted from Uttan after the rope connected to its anchor snapped in the rough sea on Wednesday night, and it reached Bhuigaon beach.
The Coast Guard airlifted the man on board the boat to safety. He was later identified as Rafiq Shaikh. The owner of the boat, Akhtar Kalokhe told mid-day, “Shaikh was alone on the boat. He is not a driver. He went to sleep at 11pm on Wednesday and woke up at 6am on Thursday after the boat hit the rocky seabed at Bhuigaon beach.”
‘He couldn’t make a call’
Shaikh was carrying a cellphone, but there was no balance to make a call, said Kalokhe, who added, “We could not reach him every time we tried to.” When asked why he did not wave to the Coast Guard helicopter, Shaikh told the police, “I was scared.”
Kalokhe had purchased the boat Hira Devi from a person who lives in Kalwa. “I could not pay him the full amount, so the ownership of the boat has not been changed. The first owner has also been called in for questioning,” Kalokhe told mid-day.
The price of the boat is Rs 25 lakh, said police. Shaikh and his employer Kalokhe were questioned for several hours by all the agencies before being allowed to go home.
Zonal DCP speak
Zonal DCP Sanjay Kumar Patil said, “Nothing suspicious was found. It was just the carelessness of the owner who did not inform the police that his boat had drifted. The boat is used to carry offshore construction material and workers.”
The entire episode was being closely monitored by Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar police commissioner Sadanand Date. The process of pulling the boat off the rocky seabed was underway at the time of going to the press.
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