National News
INS Brahmaputra Accident: Is Indian Navy Losing Too Many Ships? How Can Such Tragedy Be Avoided?
INS Brahmaputra incident at Mumbai dockyard, in which Indian Navy’s multirole frigate suffered damage due to fire onboard, has brought the situation surrounding Indian Navy ships to the fore. Even though the fire was brought under control, the ship lost some of its buoyancy and tilted on its left side, or port side as it is called in shipping and naval parlance.
INS Brahmaputra has joined an unfortunately long list of India’s naval assets damaged or destroyed by accidents. These ships and submarines, built to guard Indian coasts, became casualty of factors long thought to be preventable.
INS Brahmaputra: Major Facts
INS Brahmaputra is first indigenously built guided missile frigate of ‘Brahmaputra’ class. Indian Navy commissioned this ship in April 2000. Its staff includes 40 officers and 330 sailors.
The 125-metre-warship has displacement of 5300 tonnes and is capable of reaching speed of 30 knots. Its firepower includes surface-to-air, surface-to-surface missile in addition to medium-range guns, radars, sonars, anti-submarine rockets and much more. The ship also has capability to operate Seaking and Chetak helicopters from its deck.
It will indeed be a herculean task to make the tilted ship upright. Media reports say that Mumbai dock does not have this capability and India will have to hire foreign firms to make INS Brahmaputra straight again.
Any accident and loss of life is a setback to India and no such accidents should ideally take place. What can be done to prevent such setbacks?
“Have your processes in order. Learn from you mistakes,” said Shaurya Chakra winner Indian Navy Captain (Retired) Dilip Donde.
Indian Navy, like any other professional armed force, has strict procedures and protocols in place. Procedures are also in place for when the ship is undergoing repairs.
But is a ship more vulnerable when it is being repaired?
“Yes,” said Captain (Retd.) Sarabjeet Singh Parmar, who has commanded ships while they underwent repairs and refits.
“You can’t expect a ship to behave during a refit,” he said, adding that keeping a ship floating and upright is a challenging, delicate task during repairs.
An operational ship on mission in the sea is a perfectly functional combat unit. But during repairs, things can get tricky as for example, if a part is removed from right side (Starboard side), the ship becomes heavier on the right (Port side) and vice-versa.
It is critical at this stage to maintain an observe the list (leaning) of the ship. The list can be controlled up to a certain point but if it crosses a certain limit, there always is a chance of ship losing its balance in water and listing to one side completely, or even capsizing.
“All navies in the world face this problem,” said Captain (Retd.) Parmar, “It does not matter if it is Indian Navy or American or Chinese. These factors plague everyone.”
In his opinion, the fire on INS Brahmaputra was caused by short circuit or sparks from welding operations. Since fuel and ammunitions are removed from the ship during refit, these may not have been responsible for the fire following which the ship tilted to one side. By the time of publishing of this story, an enquiry into INS Brahmaputra incident was ordered by the Indian Navy. The cause of the fire will be announced after completion of the inquiry.
“Procedures and protocols are there for every function. If a welder is repairing part of the ship, a firefighter needs to be present beside him,” he said.
So what can be done to prevent such incidents?
“It should be checked if there was any error in following procedure,” said Captain (Retd.) Parmar.
The inquiry must take a look at the rules currently guiding repair functions and must be changed if required.
Since this is the third incident of an Indian Navy ship getting damaged at Mumbai, the headquarters of India’s Western Naval Command is facing a lot of flak. But the retired navy captain opined that it would be premature to blame the whole dock right now.
Crime
Andhra Pradesh Govt Suspends Three IPS Officers Over Actress Harassment Case
The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday suspended three senior IPS officers following an inquiry into the allegations made by a Mumbai-based actress, Kadambari Jethwani. The state government issued orders suspending P. Sitharama Anjaneyulu, then Director General of Police, Intelligence; Kanthi Rana Tata, the then Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada, and Vishal Gunni, then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada.
She and her parents allegedly faced harassment at the hands of police officers at the instance of a leader of YSR Congress, which was then the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh. The suspensions were issued under Rule 3 (1) of the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969. Sitharama Anjaneyulu has been suspended on allegations of misuse of power and grave misconduct.
He had allegedly instructed the other two officials to arrest the actress, even before a formal crime had been registered. There are allegations that Kanthi Rana Tata arrested the actress based on oral instructions from his superior on January 31, 2024, before the registration of the FIR on February 2.
Crime
UP: Man Beats Wife To Death In Amroha For Not Meeting Dowry Demands Of TVS Apache Bike & ₹3 Lakh Cash
Amroha: In a tragic incident from Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha, a young woman named Meena was brutally beaten to death by her husband, Sundar, for not fulfilling his dowry demands. Sundar, a resident of Baikheda village, had been married to Meena for two years and had persistently demanded a TVS Apache bike and Rs 3 lakh as dowry. Despite repeated harassment over the dowry, Meena was unable to meet his demands, a situation she had confided to her father.
Meena had been staying at her father’s home in Soharka since the festival of Rakshabandhan, possibly seeking refuge from the abuse. Sundar continued visiting her daily, often having meals with her family, creating an appearance of normalcy.
Sundar Brought Meena Back Home, Later Killed Her
On Sunday night, he came to bring her back to his house. Once there, Sundar confronted her again about the dowry and, in a violent fit of rage, attacked her with sticks. Unable to force her compliance, he strangled her to death before fleeing the scene.
It was the local residents who first alerted the authorities to the murder. Upon hearing the devastating news, Meena’s family rushed to the police station, demanding immediate action against Sundar. Her father, Vijay Khadak Banshi, later lodged a formal complaint accusing Sundar, along with his mother, sister and four others, of involvement in the crime.
Case Filed, Manhunt Launched To Nab Accused
The police have registered a case based on the family’s complaint and are actively searching for Sundar, who remains at large. Meanwhile, Meena’s body has been sent for a post-mortem examination to aid in the ongoing investigation.
National News
Karnataka BJP MLA Munirathna Booked For Alleged Harassment, Bribery & Casteist Abuse
Bengaluru, September 14: Two FIRs have been registered against BJP MLA Munirathna for alleged harassment, threats and casteist abuse, police said on Saturday. The cases against the Rajarajeshwarinagar MLA were filed at Vyalikaval police station here on Friday, they said.
In the first FIR filed by BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) contractor, Cheluvaraju, he accused the MLA of demanding Rs 30 lakh as a bribe and threatening to terminate his contract if he did not pay the amount.
In his complaint, he alleged that initially, Munirathna had demanded Rs 20 lakh in 2021 from him over a solid waste disposal contract. However, despite making that payment for getting 10 auto trippers for a waste management contract, he was not sanctioned those vehicles by the civic body.
According to the FIR, Cheluvaraju was being repatedly harassed by the MLA who allegedly verbally abused him and also physically assaulted him. In the complaint, he further alleged that the MLA did not allow him to execute his work and had even slapped him in September 2023.
Along with the MLA, three others, including government officials, were also named in the FIR for allegedly threatening, abusing and harassing the contractor. He also alleged that because of the repeated harassment, he even thought of ending his life, it said. Cheluvaraju has also released an audio recording of a phone conversation between him and the accused MLA.
According to police, the second FIR has been filed against the MLA on the complaint of a BBMP corporator who alleged that the MLA hurled casteist abuse, insulted his caste and family. The MLA allegedly asked Chaluvaraju not to associate himself with the corporator because of his caste.
The FIR was registered under SC and the ST (prevention of atrocities) Act and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police added.
A senior police officer said, “Based on the complaints received, we registered two separate cases against the MLA who has been accused of threats, harassment, bribery and casteist abuse. The matter is being investigated.”
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