According to the police, the accused has been identified as Vineet Kotia, the contractor of Kotia Projects
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Gujarat Police has arrested one more accused, who is the contractor of Kotia Projects, in connection with the boat capsize incident, which claimed 14 lives, including 12 children and injured several, police said. According to the police, the accused has been identified as Vineet Kotia, the contractor of Kotia Projects. With the arrest of the contractor of Kotia Projects, the total number of arrested accused reached seven.
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Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Panna Momaya says, "The Kotia project is running under Vineet Kotia. He started the main project. He has been arrested by the police. He was hiding in different places outside Gujarat. He was arrested as soon as he entered Vadodara. Efforts to seize the properties of the other absconding accused are underway. The vendor of the boat was also called from Pune today."
Earlier, the police said that an FIR was filed against 18 people in connection with the incident. The preliminary investigation suggests that the boat was packed beyond capacity, the police informed. A total of 27 people were onboard the boat during the accident, the police said, adding that it had a capacity to seat 14.
The FIR alleged further that the passengers were not given life jackets and neither were they given a run-through on the safety guidelines. The victims belonged to a group of 80 that included children and teachers from New Sunrise School in Waghodia, the police said, adding that they had arrived for a school picnic on January 18.
The 12 deceased children included seven girls and five boys. They were identified as Roshni Pankajbhai Shinde (10), Rutwi Pratik Shah (10), Jahabiya Mohammad Yunus Subedar (10), Sakina Sokat Abdulrasur (9), Alisabanu Mahamad Umar Kothariwala (9), Muvavza Mohamed Mahir Sheikh (8), Nancy Rahul Mali (8), Asiya Faruk Khalifa (11), Mohammad Ayan Mohammad Anis Gandhi (13), Vishv Kumar Kalpeshbhai Nizama (10), Altaf Hussain Mansoori (9), Ryan Harun Khalifa (10) and Farooq Khalifa (10).
Also among the deceased were two teachers identified as Falguniben Manishbhai Patel (52) and Chhayaben Hitendrabhai Surti (56). On Thursday evening, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel met the injured victims at the hospital in Vadodara. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier, condoled the loss of lives in the incident and also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured. The Gujarat government also announced Rs 4 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.
President Droupadi Murmu, too, mourned the lives lost in the incident. "The news of the death of children and teachers in a boat accident in Vadodara, Gujarat is extremely sad. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved family members and wish for the success of the rescue operation," President Murmu posted from her official X handle.
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