The crew of MV Rak Carrier,which sunk around 20 miles off the Mumbai harbour on August 4, comprising 21 Indonesians,six Jordanians,two Romanians,and a Palestinian are still waiting to go back to their countries. Police said only the Indonesian consulate had approached the Yellow Gate police station in the past 20 days. After the rescue operation,the crew members were brought to the Yellow Gate police station. Their statements were recorded and they were allowed to go. However,they were not given a no-objection certificate (NOC) to leave the country till inquiries were completed. Police inspector Bharat Bhoite said after making inquiries,the police contacted all consulates concerned but only the Indonesian consulate had responded. The Indonesian consulate contacted us two days ago and claimed responsibility for its nationals. The consulates of the other three countries have not yet responded to our request of taking responsibility of their citizens, said Bhoite. All the rescued crew members have been put up in hotels around Yellow Gate and are being taken care of by the Seamens Club of Mumbai,which is providing money for food and other utilities, said Bhoite. He added that the police had sent several requests to the other consulates in the past 20 days,but had not received any response. The crew members will be given the NOC only after the investigations are complete,which will take around 30 days, said Bhoite. However,another officer from the Yellow Gate police station said even after getting the NOC,the Jordanians,Romanians and Palestinian crew members will be allowed to leave India only if their countries accept responsibility for them. We will have to deport them later.
