<p class="title">The Navy has started general court-martial against three of its senior officials after they were found guilty of dereliction of duties by a high-level inquiry panel probing a rare accident involving frontline warship INS Betwa in 2016.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Official sources said the court-martial proceedings against two commanders and the captain of the ship began in Mumbai on July 26 based on findings of the board of inquiry which carried out a detailed investigation into the accident around two-and-half years ago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Two sailors were killed when the Brahmaputra-class guided-missile frigate capsized in a dry dock in Mumbai on December 5, 2016, in a first of its kind accident in the Indian Navy's history.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 3,850-tonne guided-missile frigate tipped over and crashed to its side during undocking, triggering severe criticism against the Navy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The sources said the board of inquiry in its reports mentioned "major mistakes" and "negligence" on the part of several personnel.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, the captain and two commanders contested the "blame" attributed to them by the probe panel and opted for initiation of a general court-martial, they said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As the three officials refused to accept findings of the high-level probe, general court-martial proceedings were started against them during which they will get full opportunity to defend themselves, the sources said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Named after the river Betwa, the 126-metre-long vessel was commissioned into the Navy in 2004.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The INS Betwa is one of the key warships of the Western Naval Command and it is armed with Uran anti-ship missiles, Barak 1 surface-to-air missiles and torpedoes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Navy has almost completed repairing the ship and it is expected to return to operational duties in the next couple of months. </p>
<p class="title">The Navy has started general court-martial against three of its senior officials after they were found guilty of dereliction of duties by a high-level inquiry panel probing a rare accident involving frontline warship INS Betwa in 2016.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Official sources said the court-martial proceedings against two commanders and the captain of the ship began in Mumbai on July 26 based on findings of the board of inquiry which carried out a detailed investigation into the accident around two-and-half years ago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Two sailors were killed when the Brahmaputra-class guided-missile frigate capsized in a dry dock in Mumbai on December 5, 2016, in a first of its kind accident in the Indian Navy's history.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 3,850-tonne guided-missile frigate tipped over and crashed to its side during undocking, triggering severe criticism against the Navy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The sources said the board of inquiry in its reports mentioned "major mistakes" and "negligence" on the part of several personnel.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, the captain and two commanders contested the "blame" attributed to them by the probe panel and opted for initiation of a general court-martial, they said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As the three officials refused to accept findings of the high-level probe, general court-martial proceedings were started against them during which they will get full opportunity to defend themselves, the sources said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Named after the river Betwa, the 126-metre-long vessel was commissioned into the Navy in 2004.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The INS Betwa is one of the key warships of the Western Naval Command and it is armed with Uran anti-ship missiles, Barak 1 surface-to-air missiles and torpedoes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Navy has almost completed repairing the ship and it is expected to return to operational duties in the next couple of months. </p>