File photo of Captain Sunil James's son Vivaan who died of septicemia a few days before his first birthday
A day after landing in the city and having an extremely emotional reunion with his loved ones, Captain Sunil James' ordeal was far from over on Saturday. The James family visited the private morgue in the city, where his 11-month-old son Vivaan's body remains, a day prior to his funeral.
A distraught Sunil was able to see his son's face after nine long months of being away from home.
The James family was left emotionally drained last evening after returning home from the morgue.
Sunil's brother-in-law Rakesh Madappa told MiD-Day, "The family arrived at the morgue at 4 pm along with a few close friends. We were busy making arrangements for the funeral. Needless to say, Sunil is in no state to speak about the experience, but now that he is with his family, the much needed moral support is keeping us all going."
Baby Vivaan's body will be collected from the morgue this morning, after which his kin will keep him at their Malad residence for relatives and friends to pay their respects before the burial. The infant's funeral will be held at St Orlem Church in Malad before a prayer service.
On Friday, when this correspondent met the Captain, he narrated his six-month-long ordeal when he was languishing in a Togo prison in extremely hostile living conditions.
He was detained by Togo authorities on July 30 this year after pirates took over his ship.
"The investigations took a long time as the way their government runs is very different. My colleagues and I were attacked by masked pirates who took away all our belongings," said Sunil.
It was only after the Indian ambassador of Ghana, HE Jeeva Sagar met the president of Togo on December 18, that a day later, he obtained a full release with all charges against him dropped by the court due to lack of evidence.
"We were the victims but now that I have returned home, we want to concentrate on getting our lives back on track," added Sunil.