Italian crew to be booked for killing Indian fishermen

New Delhi: The Indian government has decided to register a case against the security personnel on board Italian ship Enrica Lexie, which did not report the shooting incident that left two fishermen dead to maritime authorities.

According to reports, the Enrica tried to flee after the incident.

As many as 45 policemen are now on board the ship while the crew also remains on board. They have got the permission from the Union Home Ministry to file a case against them.

Meanwhile, coast guard sources have told CNN-IBN that the shooting incident happened 22 nautical miles away from the coast. The ship then moved away without reporting the incident, as is mandatory.

Following this, the coast guard finally tracked down the ship 70 miles away from the coast.

Calling the incident unfortunate and serious, Union Defence Minister A K Antony said, "It is a very serious and unfortunate incident. Already Kerala police and coast guard are questioning the people. Investigation is going on. We will keep a strict vigil and will do everything as per law."

Reacting to the killing of two fishermen, the Ministry of External Affairs summoned Italian Ambassador to India Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte and registered a strong protest over the incident.

However, the Italian envoy said that the ship came involuntarily into the Kochi dock, adding that though the incident was sad, facts were yet to be clear.

Two fishermen were shot dead by Italian navy personnel who were part of the merchant vessel crew.

According to MEA sources, a total of 11 fishermen were on the boat, of them nine were sleeping. The two, who were awake at the time, were fired upon without warning.

However, the Italian government has claimed that the ship had come under attack from pirates and the navy personnel fired only warning shots.

The ship is now docked at Kochi outer harbour. The Italian consul general is also slated to meet the crew. The police will question the crew only after that meeting.

Meanwhile, the Kerala police have claimed that the fishermen did not attack the ship.

Boat owners Association representative Savior Matyas also raised the concerns of fishermen following the incident.

He said, "I think the people in the ship were drunk to have shot them. How will the poor fishermen go for fishing if all big ships shoot like this?"