Sailor Beaten To Death On Oil Tanker Over Prophet Mohammed Cartoons

A Sailor was allegedly beaten to death by his colleagues on board a Norwegian oil tanker in the international waters off the coast of Fujairah, following an argument over the blasphemous cartoon published on Prophet Mohammed in a Danish daily recently. According to reliable sources, the fight among the Seamen, which caused the death of one sailor, emerged after an argument between them over their differences of opinions over the slanderous and blasphemous cartoon on Prophet Mohammed.A source from the Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed the death of 31-year-old Sudheer Nonia Jagannathan, hailing from Mumbai, but refused to comment on the issue. “We had been informed about the death. Our officials visited the Fujairah Hospital and collected the details. The investigation is going on and once it is over, the consulate will render all the help to repatriate the body.” The source disclosed that all the crew in the ship was from India. The ship was coming from New Manglore Port in Karnataka in India to Fujairah with chemicals. The deceased was working as a fitter on the ship. The death was likely caused by foul play as traces of beaten and smashed skull was detected in the a post-mortem at the Fujairah Hospital. The sources said the body of the allegedly murdered man was found by the inspection squad, lying on the deck of the vessel with traces of beating on different parts of his body. The authorities concerned in the UAE were informed about the incident, as it was the closest land from the international waters where the incident took place in the oil tanker. The body of the dead man was taken to the morgue of the Fujairah Hospital, and all people on board the ship were apprehended. “After examining the body, traces of beating marks were found on the head, asphyxiation and teeth bites on the shoulder. Medical check-up also revealed clear smashing on the skull” said the source. When reporters contacted the Captain of the oil tanker, he denied any foul play in the incident, even though he and his crew members were remanded to the custody of the Fujairah Police.