'Missing' Navy diver's family awaits his return, seeks PM Narendra Modi's help

JAMMU: The family members of a Navy diver, missing for six days, have sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to find his whereabouts.

24-year-old Gurjeet Singh, a resident of Chatta area of Jammu, had joined Navy five years ago and was deployed at Torpedo Recovery Vessel (TRV) A-72 which sank off the Visakhapatnam coast on November 6 during a routine exercise.

"In his five years of career as a navy diver, he saved so many lives. For the past six days we are desperate to know about his well being. We don't know the fate of our son," said Rajinder Singh, his father.

The Navy had said four of its sailors went missing after the vessel, that was on a routine exercise to recover practice torpedoes fired by the fleet ships, sank on November 6.

It had said that out of 29 sailors onboard, the Navy divers saved 24 of its men, whereas body of one sailor was also recovered.

"Just a night before the ship sank, he had called home and informed us that after the exercise was over he would come home on leave to finalise the wedding of his sister, but then came this unfortunate news that the vessel he was deployed on has sunk and since then he has been missing, Rajinder said.

"We are hopeful that he will return soon," Gurjeet's mother Mohinder Kour said.

His family members have now appealed to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention.