Kanpur: A 30-year-old chief officer in the merchant navy from Kanpur, Sagar Gupta, died after a cargo ship he was travelling on came under attack in the Black Sea on July 18 amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Gupta, who was heading towards a Russian port, was killed in the attack and his body is reportedly being kept in Russia. His family has demanded that his mortal remains be brought back to India at the earliest.The family was informed about the attack on July 21 by a person working with Gupta. They later received information about the incident from the DG Shipping office as well.Gupta, a resident of Shastri Nagar, worked as a chief officer with Mumbai-based company Avon Navigators. His brother Manish said Sagar left home for Mumbai on June 13 and later boarded the ship from Turkiye on June 17. He had not contacted anyone after July 17.Sagar’s wife Shalu said 10 days had passed since the incident, but his body had not reached India and the family had no information about when they would receive it. She said they received a call from his friend informing them that Sagar died in the attack on the ship in the Black Sea on July 18.“My demand to the govt is that his body should be brought and handed over to us as soon as possible,” she said. Shalu added, “I have two children, including my five-year-old daughter Gauri, who studies in LKG, and my seven-month-old son Krishna. We should be provided some govt assistance so that our household can run. I got married in Dec 2020.”Manish said, “No call has come from the govt’s side. No one knows by when the body will come home. My demand to the govt is that my brother should be given the status of a martyr. Besides this, the body should reach home as soon as possible.”After receiving information about the incident, BJP MLA Surendra Maithani from Govind Nagar reached the family’s house on Tuesday and assured them of all possible help.
