Singer Yesudas to help Thekkady boat driver
October 8th, 2009 - 6:06 pm ICT by IANS
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 8 (IANS) Veteran playback singer K.J. Yesudas Thursday said he would provide all legal help to the driver of the ill-fated boat, which capsized Sep 30 at Thekkady lake in central Kerala’s Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary killing 45 people.
Speaking to a TV channel here, the singer said it is sad that the driver alone is being accused for the tragedy.
“The driver was doing his job. Are there no other officials who also need to be made accountable for the tragedy? It is not fair to target just the hapless boat driver. So, we have decided to help him fight the case,” Yesudas said.
The driver, Victor Samuel, and his assistant are in judicial custody after the Crime Branch arrested them last week.
“The driver did not own the boat, it belongs to the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC). He alone should not be made the scapegoat,” Yesudas said.
A shipping expert Wednesday confirmed the boat had some inherent faults and had a tilt about 2.9 degrees to its right side.
The state cabinet has requested the Kerala High Court to provide a sitting judge to probe the tragedy.
State Bharatiya Janata Party president P.K. Krishna Das Thursday demanded that Kerala Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and KTDC chairman Cherian Phillip should step down on moral grounds.
- Judicial panel starts hearings in Kerala boat tragedy - Dec 20, 2010
- Kerala tourism authority blamed for 2009 boat tragedy - Aug 25, 2011
- Thekkady boat driver says officials were told of boat condition - Oct 22, 2009
- A year after Thekkady boat tragedy, no probe, no case - Sep 30, 2010
- Driver, assistant arrested in Thekkady boat tragedy - Oct 05, 2009
- Two more held for Thekkady boat tragedy - Oct 15, 2009
- Thekkady boat was overcrowded, had inherent problems: Police - Oct 04, 2009
- Teenager's body found from Thekkady lake, toll 45 - Oct 04, 2009
- Three more bodies recovered from Thekkady lake, toll 44 (Lead) - Oct 03, 2009
- Bodies of girl, mother found in Thekkady lake, toll 43 - Oct 03, 2009
- Boat tragedy: Kerala admits lapses, lifejackets to be mandatory - Oct 01, 2009
- Boat tragedy: Kerala government, tourism agency also responsible - Oct 20, 2009
- Government also blamed for Kerala boat tragedy (Lead) - Oct 20, 2009
- Yesudas helps Thekkady boat driver - Oct 10, 2009
- Thekkady boat had defects: Shipping expert - Oct 07, 2009
Tags: balakrishnan, boat driver, central kerala, cherian, crime branch, janata party president, judicial custody, kerala high court, kerala tourism development, krishna das, ktdc, legal help, moral grounds, periyar wildlife sanctuary, playback singer, scapegoat, state cabinet, tourism development corporation, tourism minister, tv channel