MAGISTERIAL INQUIRY CALLED INTO THE DEATH OF A GOAN ONBOARD A CRUISE LINER

MARGAO: A magisterial inquiry into the death of a young Goan onboard a cruise liner has called for a thorough interrogation of the Master of the Ship to ascertain the circumstances and all aspects behind the death of Randall Jason Fernandes.

In his summary report submitted to the Home department, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Margao Johnson Fernandes recommended the examination of the Master of the ship by a Commission before any Indian embassy where the ship is presently close to as provided under section 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code if the Master cannot be brought to India with all the relevant documentations.

The young lad from Navelim was found dead in his cabin on board the cruise liner “Costa Fortuna”. The Home department had ordered an inquiry into Randall’s death after his parents petitioned to the Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, suspecting foul play and murder behind the death.

The second autopsy conducted by a panel of doctors constituted by the Dean of Goa Medical College stated “the cause of death, to the best of our knowledge and belief is consistent with the findings of the first post mortem examination done overseas, i.e. due to hanging,” but the panel observed that the manner of death needs to be investigated by the investigating agencies concerned.

In his summary report, the Sub-divisional Magistrate said the fact that the deceased committed suicide is well established; but what made the deceased to commit suicide has to be inquired into to rule out abetment suicide.

“The ship log book would contain details of every incident that has been occurring on the ship on a day-to-day basis. The behavioural attitude, the etiquettes of the deceased etc are all recorded on the ship log book”, the SDM observed, while calling for the interrogation of the Master of the Ship to throw light on these aspects.

“In any given case of suicidal death, circumstantial evidence, interrogation of close aides, neighbours, friends are vital to draw any conclusion. Randal had died on board the ship in his cabin. We have no knowledge of the size, height of the cabin and the distance from below the floor and from the height of hanging and the material used for hanging etc,” the SDM observed.

Saying that that Master of the Ship is bestowed with magisterial powers when such an incident occurs on a floating vessel, SDM Johnson observed “As per the Mariners Law or Merchant Shipping law, I have not come across the panchanama drawn by the Master of the Ship which has to be endorsed by witnesses. No corroborative statements have also been recorded by the Master of the ship, i.e. recording statements of friends, cabin mate or next door neighbour of the cabin or of the security officer, who had broke open the door to enter into the cabin to find Randal’s dead body”.

The SDM continued: “From the correspondence, it appears that from the time of the missing of the crew member till the time of location of the body, apparently in the cabin, there has been no justification given for such a delay between the time of non-appearance for duties or the time of missing till the time of location of the dead body by the Master of the Ship”.

The SDM has called for verification of the entries on the ship log book as well as the first SOS call made by the Master on the immediate next port call and the calls made to the company headquarters and to the regional office in Mumbai so as to correlate the sequence to establish it was indeed a suicide.

“The immediate photographs of the scene in the cabin and the dead body of the deceased are also vital. It is essential that the above facts need explanation and a justification form the company officials as well as from the Master of the Ship,” the inquiry stated.

While forwarding the summary report of the inquiry, the SDM said his observations could also be vetted by the Law department.