Family of missing Navy soldier demands CBI enquiry

Family members of missing Navy soldier Sahil Verma addressing a press conference at Jammu. — Excelsior/Rakesh
Family members of missing Navy soldier Sahil Verma addressing a press conference at Jammu. — Excelsior/Rakesh

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Mar 16: The family of 19-year-old Sahil Verma, an Indian Navy soldier who went missing on February 25 from onboard INS Kochi, has demanded CBI enquiry into his sudden disappearance.
Addressing a press conference here today, the family members of Sahil Verma said that there is no information of whereabouts of the Sahil with the Navy even after 19 days of his missing.
Sahil’s uncle Ashok Verma told, “We had gone to Mumbai and met with the local police and Navy but there is no trace of the whereabouts of our child.” According to the family, they were informed by Sahil’s ship captain that Sahil was missing from the ship.
Ashok Verma said that a missing complaint has been filed in Colaba Police regarding Sahil’s disappearance and the police and Navy people are searching for Sahil. Ashok Verma said that the question in this case is that there were so many people on the ship, so how did Sahil alone go missing.
Ashok said Navy informed them that a large-scale search operation was launched with ships and planes to search for Sahil but to no avail. He said according to officials, Sahil went missing from the ship but he was not seen falling or jumping from the deck in the CCTV footage installed on the ship.
He said Navy has also ordered the Naval Board of Inquiry to investigate the matter but Sahil’s parents is dissatisfied with the authorities and the family is demanding a CBI inquiry into the matter. He appealed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to intervene into the matter and ordered a CBI enquiry into the matter.