'Where's my son?': Missing Navy sailor's father seeks Centre's intervention
A massive search operation, involving several ships and aircraft, has yielded no trace of the seaman who has been missing for over a week
More than a week after Indian Navy sailor Sahil Verma mysteriously disappeared from a ship, his father Subhash Chander has now sought the intervention of the Centre. A massive search operation, involving several ships and aircraft, has yielded no trace of the seaman.
“It is astonishing that a soldier went missing from his naval ship and is not traceable. I have been told that the CCTV cameras installed on the ship did not find anyone falling into the sea. Then where is my son?” Chander told news agency PTI. He expressed surprise that a soldier could vanish from a naval ship without a trace.
Residing in the Ghou Manhasan area of Jammu, Verma’s parents are now compelled to seek a CBI probe into the case. The family has also sought urgent intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, to ensure the safe return of their missing son.
Left in the dark about the incident until two days after their son's disappearance, the family is now demanding justice. “We got a call on February 29 informing that our son went missing on board the ship two days before that ... we last talked to him on Sunday (February 25) and nothing is known (about) what happened to him,” Chander added.
The Western Naval Command stated that a high-level board of inquiry has been initiated to find Verma. “In an unfortunate incident, Sahil Verma, Seaman II, has been reported missing at sea from (an) Indian Naval Ship whilst on deployment since February 27, 2024. The Navy immediately launched a massive search operation with ships and aircraft, which is still continuing,” it said in a post on X on Saturday.
However, Verma's mother, Rama Kumari, suspects a cover-up, alleging that information is being concealed. “There were 400 people on board the ship and only my son went missing. My prayers and demands are only that he returns safe and sound,” she said.
Verma’s maternal uncle Gautam claimed that the ship returned to base for a day before setting sail again. “We have heard that the ship returned to base for a day before leaving again. How is it possible that he went missing from the ship,” he wondered. "The family should have been informed and a board of inquiry ordered within 24 hours of the incident. But both these measures were initiated after a couple of days," he said.
