# SC seeks Centre’s report on missing captain after Hormuz attack 2026-08-19T11:22:14+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Union government to trace Captain Ashish Kumar, who went missing after a missile attack on his ship MT Skylight in the Strait of Hormuz on March 1. The court sought a status report after his wife Anshu Kumari petitioned, arguing that DNA tests disproved the presumption of his death. The bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to respond by Monday. Anshu Kumari told the court that ransom calls from international numbers demanding Rs 20 lakh were received on March 4, and WhatsApp messages were delivered to her husband's device hours after the attack. She claimed his WhatsApp profile was manually deleted on March 31. The petition alleges the government failed to use diplomatic channels or launch a specialised investigation despite evidence of extortion and possible captivity. The Times of India and Times Now both report that out of 20 crew members, 18 were rescued. Kumar and another Indian national remain missing. The Indian embassy in Muscat informed the family on May 15 that bone fragments found in the captain's cabin did not match Kumar's DNA, as per a Royal Oman Police forensic report. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both sources report the facts neutrally, with no discernible slant. The Times of India leads with the wife's claim of ransom calls and electronic evidence, while Times Now emphasises the court's direction and the procedural timeline. Neither outlet questions the government's response or the wife's allegations. The measured takeaway: the court has set a deadline for a status report, and the central issue remains the unexplained survival evidence versus the lack of official action. Watch for the government's response by Monday, which will clarify whether diplomatic or intelligence channels have been activated. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight reporting of court proceedings and wife's allegations without editorialising - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Focus on court direction and timeline, no slant or critique of government This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Tags: Ashish Kumar, MT Skylight, Strait of Hormuz, Supreme Court of India, Surya Kant Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sc-seeks-centres-report-on-missing-captain-after-hormuz-attack/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sc-seeks-centres-report-on-missing-captain-after-hormuz-attack/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/