Mumbai: Three men were arrested by Gorai police on Thursday for copper theft on an unmanned merchant tanker at Manori, where an explosion killed four of their associates last Sunday.Police suspect that a gas leak while the four were cutting a pipe in the engine room, likely to steal the copper from it, led to the explosion. The three in police custody allegedly stole brass valves and copper worth Rs 40,000 from the vessel while their associates perished.Police suspect that the gang had carried out a reconnaissance and committed thefts on the stranded vessel at least twice earlier. Evidence is being gathered to verify this.The Nicaragua-flag merchant vessel, MT Al Jafzia, had got separated from the anchor chain and drifted to Manori owing to turbulent weather in July.Three of the four killed—Vinayak Ambavne alias Vinu, Ramchandra Nevrekar and Shankar—were aged 30-40 years. Postmortem examinations and forensic analysis will help determine the exact cause of their deaths.The deaths came to light only on Monday when one of their surviving associates, Vijay Sanjiva, approached Gorai police and told them about the explosion. He and the other survivors, Pratik Patil and Shiven Shundul, were arrested and produced before a magistrate court on Thursday and remanded in police custody till Oct 6. Police said the three accused appear to have a prior criminal history.The gang had used a fishing boat owned by Sanjiva for transportation to and from the merchant vessel.Police said the bodies were recovered with the Navy’s assistance on Wednesday. “The Navy brought a helicopter and two boats. They used protective gear and checked the vessel for gas leak. The bodies were taken to Colaba and then sent to JJ Hospital for a postmortem examinations,” said a police officer.
