Frustrated over the delay in compensation ordered by the Madras High Court for the death of their sailor son, who was on board M T Pratibha Cauvery when it ran aground here few months ago, allegedly committed suicide at their residence today.
Mentioning the incident before Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar, counsel for the victim's family S Prabhakaran alleged that the delay on the part of the High Court Registry in reimbursing the compensation drove them to take the extreme step.
The parents committed suicide early today at their residence at Arakkonam in Vellore district, he told the court.
Niranjan was one of the six sailors killed in the October 31 incident, when the oil-tanker M T Pratibha Cauvery ran aground near here hours before cyclone 'Nilam' hit the coast that evening.
Justice Vasanthakumar had on December 21 ordered Pratibha Shipping Company Limited to pay Rs 87.45 lakh as interim relief to the legal heirs of the victims.
While the shipping company had already deposited Rs 30 lakh as compensation for families of all six victims during the course of the hearing, Niranjan was entitled for Rs 9 lakh, in the final order.
Prabhakaran alleged that the Registry did not give the compensation to the father and mother of the sailor, saying there was no clarity on to which of the two legal heirs should the compensation be given.
He said when the mother in her affidavit submitted that her husband be given the compensation, the Registry had questioned what if the victim had a secret marriage and the wife came claiming for the compensation later on.
Prabhakaran said that there was no ambiguity in the order delivered on December 21.
