A fisherman from Maharashtra’s Palghar district was killed after personnel of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency fired on an Indian fishing boat in the Arabian Sea, The Hindu reported.
The fisherman was 32-year-old Sridhar Ramesh Chamre. His body has been taken to the Okha port in the Devbhumi Dwarka district.
The Porbandar Navi Bandar police have registered a First Information Report against 10 officers of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency, PTI reported. They have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), and 114 (presence of abettor when the offence is committed).
Another fisherman, Dilip Solanki, sustained injuries in the firing, according to The Indian Express. Solanki, the captain of the boat, has a bullet injury but is said to be out of danger.
Five other crew members were also present on the boat, named Jal Pari.
Superintendent of Police, Devbhumi Dwarka district, Sunil Joshi said that Pakistan Maritime Security Agency officials chased and fired at Chamre around 4 pm on November 6 when they were fishing off the Jakhau coast.
However, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency officials claimed that the boat had illegally transgressed into the country’s territorial waters.
“Subsequently Pakistan Maritime Security Agency’s ships attempted to interdict the intruding boat, which even after repeated warnings did not respond or change course,” the agency said, according to The Hindu.
The Indian Coast Guard said that the police were investigating the matter and the crew were being jointly interviewed by the agency and the police, The Times of India reported.
“Details can be shared only after completion of the investigation, the Coast Guard said.
An unidentified official said that the Indian government has taken serious note of the matter, according to The Indian Express. “We are going to take up this issue diplomatically with the Pakistan side,” the official said.
Chamre’s cousin Praful Bhoir told the newspaper that he was the only earning member of the family, and appealed to the government to help them.
“He would travel to the port and come back when the catch was poor,” Bhoir said. “This time he went in August and had been there since then.”
Chamre is survived by his wife, two daughters and his parents.
The last time a similar incident had occurred was in September 2015, when Pakistan Maritime Security Agency personnel shot dead a 40-year-old worker on a fishing boat for allegedly crossing Indian waters.
In December 2020, the Gujarat government told the state Assembly that 345 fisherfolk from the state were lodged in Pakistani jails.
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