New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Ministry of External Affairs to use diplomatic channels to trace Deepak Kumar Gupta, a 22-year-old Indian seafarer missing since the cargo vessel MV AGN Ragnar came under a drone attack near Ukraine’s Odessa port on July 25. The direction came while the court was hearing a plea filed by his elder brother, Sandeep Kumar Gupta.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana directed solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, to obtain updates from the Indian embassies in Ukraine and Romania. The case will be heard again on Friday.
The petition was filed by Sandeep Kumar Gupta, the missing seafarer’s elder brother, who sought directions to the MEA to coordinate search and rescue efforts through Indian embassies in Ukraine and Romania. The petition said repeated representations to the Union government and the Indian missions had yielded no information about his brother’s whereabouts.
According to the plea, representations were sent to the MEA and the Indian embassies between July 26 and July 30. The family later approached the Supreme Court, seeking judicial intervention to ensure coordinated diplomatic efforts to locate the missing crew member.
Deepak Kumar Gupta was serving aboard the merchant vessel MV AGN Ragnar when it came under a drone attack while departing Odessa port in Ukraine’s Black Sea region on July 25. He is a resident of Bharataul village in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district, while his family originally hails from Siwan district in Bihar.
The case stems from the attack on MV AGN Ragnar, which came under a drone strike while leaving Odessa port on July 25. The vessel was carrying four Indian nationals, prompting concern over the safety of the crew.
Following the incident, the MEA said two Indian nationals were safe, while two others remained missing. The ministry stated that it had been in constant contact with authorities in Ukraine and Romania, both of which had carried out search and rescue operations.
The MEA also said it was in touch with the families of the missing Indian nationals and was extending all possible assistance.