A week after the boat tragedy in Krishna river, police arrested three persons, including ill-fated boat driver Gedela Suri Babu, who were allegedly responsible for the tragic incident.
Twenty one tourists died in the mishap on November 12.
The West Zone police who are investigating the case arrested Tadela Rama Rao (helper), Pulusu Harshavardhan Reddy (who invested on the boat) and Suri Babu in the case on Sunday.
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The three persons escaped from the spot soon after the mishap, said Joint Commissioner of Police B.V. Ramana Kumar.
A boat carrying about 40 tourists from Bhavani Island to Pavitra Sangamam in the river overturned after it hit a sand dune in the river.
The city police, who registered a case on the incident, arrested seven persons in a couple of days after the mishap.
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A few passengers swam to the shore and the local fishermen and the personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) 10th Battalion rescued some victims and shifted them to the local hospital.
‘Overloaded’
Police said that the boat was operated as tourist carrier illegally and was overloaded, when the mishap occurred.
Majority of the victims were from Ongole in Prakasam district.
West Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) G. Ramakrishna said the boat driver did not possess any licence. Harshavardhan Reddy invested huge amount on the boat, he said.
‘No safety steps’
“We so far arrested 10 persons in the case and investigation is under progress. We produced the accused in the court.
The accused did not arrange any safety gadgets and failed to follow safety precautions in the boat,” the Assistant Commissioner of Police said.
Police are investigating whether any other persons, including the tourism officials, are involved in the case.