Chennai:
Indian waters is not infested with pirates and it is an unpardonable crime to shoot innocent fishermen thinking they are pirates, Union Minister for Shipping G K Vasan said.
Vasan’s comment stating that India’s coast is free of pirates comes after Italy said that the two fishermen ----- Ajesh Binki and Jalastein -- were allegedly shot dead by Italian marines of Italian tanker ‘Enrica Lexie’ suspecting them to be pirates about 14 nautical miles off Kollam coast near Kerala on February 15.
Talking to reporters during a Confederation of Indian Industry function here on Monday, Vasan said, “Our
waterfront is not infested by pirates. It is an unpardonable crime to shoot innocent fishermen thinking they are pirates. There is no second opinion on whether to punish them for the act.”
The killing of Indian fishermen has resulted in a diplomatic row with Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi warning of “considerable differences” with India after the crew was taken into custody by Kerala police.
He said the incident is condemnable and Kerala
police are looking into it as a suspicious incident.
On whether the marines would be tried under Indian law, Vasan said punishment should be given to the guilty as India has lost two precious lives of fishermen that can’t be pardoned and cannot be taken for granted.
Assuring that steps would be taken to prevent recurrence of such attacks, he said that Mercantile Marine Department under the Shipping Ministry, along with defence, law and external affairs ministries are investigating the issue and the guilty will be punished.
No comments:
Post a Comment