FIR Against 10 Pakistan Maritime Security Personnel After Indian Fisherman Killed Off Gujarat Coast

Gujarat Police have registered an FIR on charges of murder and attempt to murder against 10 personnel of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) after they fired at an Indian fishing boat in the Arabian Sea off Gujarat coast, killing a crew member and injuring another, an official said on Monday.

The FIR has been lodged on behalf of Dilip Natu Solanki, a fisherman who was injured in the incident, reports India Today.

The FIR was registered on Sunday night at Navi Bandar police station in Porbandar district, which has territorial jurisdiction beyond 12 nautical miles off the Gujarat coast, under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 114 (abettor present when offence is committed), and relevant provisions of the Arms Act, the official said.

Earlier on Sunday (7 November), a 32-year-old fisherman from Thane in Maharashtra, Sridhar Ramesh Chamre, who was on a fishing boat 'Jalpari,' was killed after the PMSA personnel opened fire on him. One of the seven crew members aboard the boat also sustained a minor injury in the incident. He is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Okha coastal town of Devbhumi Dwarka district in Gujarat.

India has taken serious note of the unprovoked firing by PMSA and will take up the issue diplomatically with the Pakistan side, official sources in Delhi earlier said. In his complaint, Solanki said seven fishermen on board 'Jalpari' were engaged in fishing activities in the Indian waters near the international boundary when 10 PMSA personnel onboard two boats opened fire, killing one of the fishermen and injuring another.

However, Pakistan claimed that the boat had “illegally transgressed” into the country's territorial waters, adding that it fired at the Indian boat only when it paid no heed despite PMSA's “warning” .

“Pakistan Maritime Security Agency’s ships attempted to interdict the intruding boat, which even after repeated warnings did not respond or change course. PMSA ship fired warning shots in the vicinity of the Indian boat but again the boat did not stop its engines. Subsequently, PMSA fired directly onto the Indian boat after which it halted,” an official statement said.

With PTI Inputs