Captain Sunil James' wife, Aditi, in Mumbai.
Family, friends and well-wishers of Captain Sunil James held peace marches in Mumbai, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Kolkata on Saturday to petition for his release from a jail in Togo in West Africa. More such marches are planned across the country, the organisers said.
Captain James, with two other sailors, has been languishing in a jail in Togo since July this year on charges of aiding the pirates who attacked and looted his ship, MT Ocean Centurion.
On December 2, the Captain's 11-month-old son, Vivaan, died of gangrene and Septicemia. The baby's body has been kept in a morgue, with the family hoping his father can see him one last time.
Captain James' family met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this week with an appeal to bring him back. Indian officials have been pursuing the case in Togo without luck so far.
"I am disappointed. It's not that they haven't assured us of help... For us right now, time is not a luxury that we have. The baby is dead 12 days, and for us, every hour is difficult. We need instant results, or at least an answer as to when he will be back," Captain James' wife, Aditi, said.
When asked if she has any knowledge of how her husband was doing in jail, she said, "He is not doing good there with the shock of losing a child. He is devastated."
"Hope is all I have right now, and I can't lose it," she said.