Harni boat tragedy: Kejriwal meets victims of families, assures them of providing justice at 'any cost'

Ahmedabad: Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday met the families of the victims of the Harni boat tragedy in Vadodara and assured them of "justice."

Kejriwal, on a three-day Gujarat visit, told the grieving families of "ensuring justice at any cost."

Two years ago, a tragedy struck when 12 students and two teachers drowned during a picnic boat ride at Harni lake in Vadodara. Seeking justice and compensation, the families have filed multi-crore lawsuits before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against the Sunrise School.

11 of 12 family members have moved the commission seeking Rs1 crore as compensation along with interest for their loss, mental trauma and agony. 

They have alleged that since the school had organised the picnic it was responsible for the safety of the children. They have also cited information that the school had not sought permission from the district education officer as mandated.

The FIR stated that the private firm Kotia Project, responsible for running the boat ride in the lake, had not done proper "repair work and maintenance" and it lacked safety gears such life jackets, buoy rings, among others. A total of 18 persons had been booked by the police. 

The family members of the victims had been demanding justice from the state government. Last year, one of the victims' mother -- Sarla Shinde -- had interrupted the public speech of chief minister Bhupendra Patel. Since then, she has been closely monitored by the local police during visits of BJP leaders or state functionaries.  

After meeting the family members, Kejriwal assured them of "justice." 

Kejriwal is holding workers' conferences and inducting booth-level volunteers in Ahmedabad and Vadodara during this three day visit, which is ending on January 19.