‘Dredger vessel was anchored 200 metres away since 3 pm’

Four days after the incident in which a dredger vessel damaged a part of the Naigaon railway bridge on Vasai creek while it was being pulled underneath it by tugboats sarpanch of Panju Island Ashish Bhoir told midday that the vessel mdash Aryan mdash was anchored hardly 200 metres from the spot since 3 pm on the day of the incidentA screengrab shows the vessel hitting the bridge PicsHanif PatelldquoWhy did the authorities concerned not raise a red flag or take action against the accused then Police swung into action only after the incident happened and the bridge got damaged Had they raised an alarm in the day it could have been avertedrdquo Bhoir addedThe incident spot falls under the jurisdiction of the Vasai Port and a port inspector from the area said it was high tide when the dredger vessel was being pulled underneath the bridge ldquoHad the vessel not sunk in the creek the railway bridge could have been badly damaged as the water level was rising at the rate of 2feet every 10 minutes When the vessel was just under the bridge the boat operators used a gas cutter to allow water to enter the vessel so that it sinksrdquo added the inspectorA resident of Panju island Praveen Mhatre said ldquoHad they not sunk the vessel it would have badly deformed the bridge and the railway tracks and the incident would have been a devastating one It is the busiest route of the Western Railway A number of express trains pass through itrdquolsquoNot the first timersquoldquoIt is very sad that of the marine police local cops coast guard customs officials and port officials nobody took an initiative to find out about the vessel which had been anchored since 3 pm This is a matter of serious concern It is not the first incident In the past too vessels have damaged the bridge But no strong action has been taken against the accused In this incident also the police are arresting the small fries whereas the kingpin is at largerdquo Mhatre addedAn official from the Maharashtra Maritime Board MMB told midday ldquoAfter securing information about the vessel from the Manikpur police we wrote a letter to PirKhanrsquos Bluefin Marine to recover the vessel at the earliestThe owner seems to be abscondingrdquo When midday approached the people on board two boats anchored near the Vasai Port and asked them whether the same boats were used to pull the dredger vessel they said ldquoIt belongs to Pir Khan saahabrdquolsquoNot our concernrsquoA Customs official said ldquoThe incident has nothing to do with our area of work It is the responsibility of the marine police and Coast Guard to keep an eye on suspicious movements in the sea We have no role to play in thisrdquo An officer from Manikpur police station where the case has been registered told midday that six more accused had been arrestedldquoEarlier we had arrested two tugboat drivers Now six more accused mdash Rahul Ram Palash Santra Harveer Singh Santosh Rai Salman Shaikh and Prasanjeet Sarkar have been arrested The prime accused is still at largerdquo