The wife of a person who died in the de-commissioned submarine INS Vagli in Chennai on January 27 has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court seeking compensation and a high-level enquiry into the incident.
The petitioner, B. Vijaya Bharathi of Villivakkam said that her husband, Bhavani Shankar, a Chemistry graduate had more than 20 years of experience in vessel-related engineering and was a specialist in the field. He was running ‘Akshaya Marine Engineering,’ a small company. The Tamil Nadu Government had proposed to establish a maritime heritage museum at Mamallapuram near here with the decommissioned submarine as the centre-piece of attraction.
Last month, her husband and other workmen were working on the vessel with the aim of getting it towed to Mamallapuram. On January 27, the workers developed giddiness and fell down allegedly due to gas leaking from the submarine. Her husband and another person, Mahendran, were declared dead.
The petitioner said that due to the accident, she lost her husband, who was the family’s sole breadwinner. She sent a representation to the authorities for conducting a high-level enquiry into the tragedy and seeking compensation. However, no action was taken. Hence, the present petition.
Justice R. Subbiah adjourned the matter for February 26.
