Family members of sailor Aditya Sharma (23), who was killed in a US raid on an oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, on Thursday urged the Himachal government and the Center to return the body to his native village of Jalore in Hamirpur so that his last rites can be performed.
Aditya was among the three crew members killed after the US military struck Palau’s flagged Mount Setibelo in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, accusing it of violating the US blockade by trying to transport oil from Iran.
There were 24 Indian crew members on board, 21 of whom were rescued.
Aditya, a student on probation, was his parents’ only son.
Family members, devastated by the loss, wondered if there were enough attempts to save him.
Ashok, grandfather of the deceased, said: “We want to know that when the captain was warned not to go ahead, in what capacity he pushed the ship forward. We demand an investigation.”
Aadhya’s uncle, Sanjeev, said they spent several anxious hours trying to confirm his whereabouts after receiving information that he was missing.
“I received a call from my brother around 9 pm on Wednesday that Aditya was missing. I immediately rushed to my brother’s house in Jalandhar (Punjab). Throughout the night, we tried to coordinate with the company to find out Aditya’s whereabouts. We came to know that he was there only around 1.30 am,” Sanjeev said.
He added that Aditya was planning to visit his home in May, but decided to extend his stay on the ship by a month.
“We are trying to get our son’s body so that we can perform the last rites,” Sanjeev said, adding that they have asked Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the central government to return the body early.
“We also want to know what Aditya was doing near the engine at night when the attack happened, and whether there were any attempts to rescue him or not,” Sanjeev said.
Expressing grief over Sharma’s death, Anurag Thakur said that he has asked Foreign Minister Jaishankar to reach out to the Indian Embassy in Oman to talk to the country’s authorities and the company so that his body can be brought to India as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukho, in a statement issued here on Thursday, expressed his condolences and said that the state government stands firmly with the bereaved family members in this hour of distress.
He also directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the family.
