Cyclone Ockhi: Kerala High Court seeks state reply on plea seeking probe

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has asked the state government to file a reply within ten days on a petition filed requesting a fair investigation to trace the missing fishermen including minors as a result of Cyclone Ockhi cyclone that lashed the Kerala coast from November 30. The petitioner, KSU state vice-president Rinku Padippurayi, said that he was a volunteer who helped the victims of cyclone Okhi. The respondents in the petition include the state government, the Disaster Management Authority, the State Police Chief and the Union of India.

The petitioner while pointing out the “arbitrary action” of the respondents in not conducting a proper investigation to find the missing fishermen, said that the official investigation for missing fisherman was started after social media and the general media highlighted issues. The writ petition prayed for issuance of a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ order or direction commanding the respondents to conduct a fair investigation in a time-bound manner to trace the missing fishermen.

The petition also pointed out that the Coast Guard as well as the Coastal Police had failed to protect the missing fisherman. The Disaster Management Authority did not give pre-cautionary warning about cyclone Ockhi and there was a delay in the rescue operations in the sea. The writ petition also pointed out that there was a possibility of fisherman reaching neighbouring countries due to the speed of the cyclone.