Kanpur Administration Seeks MEA Help as Merchant Navy Officer Reportedly Killed at Sea

The Kanpur district administration has approached the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) seeking verification of reports that Merchant Navy chief officer Sagar Gupta was killed in a suspected drone attack on a cargo vessel in the Black Sea. Officials have also requested assistance in repatriating his mortal remains if the incident is officially confirmed.

Senior officials, including District Magistrate Jitendra Pratap Singh and Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal, visited Gupta's family at their residence in Shastri Nagar after they reported receiving information about his alleged death. The administration subsequently forwarded the family's representation to the MEA through the Uttar Pradesh government.

According to Lal, no official confirmation has yet been received from the MEA, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) or the shipping company regarding either Gupta's death or any attack on the vessel. He stressed that authorities are acting solely on the information shared by the family while awaiting verification from the competent agencies.

Gupta's wife, Shalu Gupta, said he worked with AV0N NAVIG8ORZ Marines Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based recruitment and placement company. She said he left Kanpur on June 13, travelled to Istanbul and boarded the cargo vessel M/B OM Mar as chief officer on June 17.

The family said Gupta last contacted them on July 17. Four days later, a colleague allegedly informed them that the vessel had come under a drone attack in the Black Sea on July 18 and that Gupta had been killed. They claimed representatives of the shipping company later contacted them regarding the incident.

Shalu Gupta has filed a written complaint against M/s Bharti Placement Agency and AV0N NAVIG8ORZ Marines Pvt Ltd while requesting the government's help in bringing her husband's body home. The couple's five-year-old daughter and seven-month-old son remain with the family, which has appealed for swift verification, repatriation and financial assistance, describing Gupta as the household's sole breadwinner.