A month on, Polish sailor runs round in circles to get port permission in the face of police harassment
A 52-year-old Polish national who set out on a voyage in a capsule boat made in Alang, Gujarat, has been detained at Vasai port for a month and he's furious over unwarranted harassment by the authorities.
Eugeniusz Z Reket docked at Vasai on March 19, planning to complete some formalities at the Polish consulate. But he got embroiled with the port authorities over clearance to continue on his boat trip. (dna first reported the case in its March 21 edition.)
Worse, Reket has alleged that he has been robbed of cash totalling $4,000 and a watch, worth $1,600 by police and customs officials in Daman, where he was subjected to an inspection.
A port official, contacted over phone, said Reket would not be given clearance unless he submitted the relevant documents, but did not specify what the documents were.
"Here, everybody asks for documents. I have produced all the documents they asked for. It is my foolishness that I decided to buy the boat from India. Little did I know that I would also be buying thousands of problems," a weary-looking Reket said during a conversation inside his boat, berthed at Vasai, on Tuesday.
Reket, who operates a granite and marble business in Miami, Florida, got the 23-ft boat constructed at Alang. Within a few days of starting his journey, the boat developed a snag and it drifted for some hours before he got help from the Indian Coast Guard.
"I got a registration number for the vessel from Florida and wanted to take it there, but now I am stuck here. I was hoping to sail through Colombo, but I have very little time left as sailing will be prohibited as we approach the monsoon," Reket said.
He said while he was sailing, each time he was stopped by the police patrol, he welcomed them to check all his documents and they even inspected the boat. "Then they would make me write an application and allow me to sail on."
Reket complained that he has been made to run from one office to another and no one has explained to him clearly what is required. "I am alone on this journey. They don't tell me what they want... they only humiliate me. I am tired of running about trying to get the documents. The consulate is trying to help me get the necessary permissions," he said.
The boat, which is powered by a diesel engine and is fitted with wind and solar power systems, has all the amenities one would find in a luxury yacht.
"Without the documents, we won't be able to give him a port clearance. His agent has left him high and dry. He will have to produce the documents before May 25, which is the deadline for vessels to get a port clearance," a Vasai port official said.
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