MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: A Maharashtra fisherman was shot dead and another injured in a shootout on a trawler near the international waters of Kutch, in the latest blaze of tension between India and Pakistan. Pakistan Maritime Security Agency on Saturday.
India is registering a strong protest against the firing, which was described as “unprovoked”. shridhar chamare, 32, belonged to Palghar district. His injured companion is being treated at a hospital in Okha, Gujarat. Fishermen along the coast in Palghar, including the village of Vadrai, where the Chamra lived, have called for a bandh on Monday.
Pakistan’s Coast Guard forces are being accused of being increasingly trigger-happy against Indian fishermen. This is the second incident since September 2015 in which a 40-year-old worker on a fishing boat was shot dead allegedly by the PMSA while crossing Indian waters. In September 2020, PMSA personnel fired at five Indian fishermen near the maritime boundary line off Jakhau coast in Kutch. One got injured. In February this year, Pakistan arrested 17 Indian fishermen and confiscated their boats for allegedly wandering in its territorial waters.
Pakistan has detained over 600 Indian fishermen and over 1,100 boats. Officials and fishing bodies have often complained that even when Pakistan releases fishermen, they keep their boats.
The latest incident, officials said, is still under investigation. The MEA said that India will take it up diplomatically with the Pakistani side.
Manish Lodhari, Chairman, Marine Fisheries Co-op Ltd, Porbandar said that the firing took place near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) at Jakhau in Kutch. The boat with seven crew members had left Okha port on 26 October. At around 4 pm on Saturday evening, PMSA soldiers fired on the trawler.
Unconfirmed reports said that Chamre was hit by three bullets and died on the spot. A bullet went into the cheek of Dilip Tandel, another laborer who was driving the boat.
The victim’s father Ramesh said that the family was informed about the incident by Jayantilal Rathod, the owner of the Jalpari boat. “My son went to work on the boat in mid-September. We are told that he was in Indian waters and he was stabbed in the chest.
Five other crew members narrowly escaped. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said in a statement that the police is investigating the matter and the crew members are being jointly interrogated. “The details can be shared only after the investigation is completed,” the statement said. At least four to five fishing boats are believed to have been around when the firing took place.
Devbhoomi Dwarka Superintendent of Police Sunil Joshi said the body was brought to Okha port and a case has been registered with Porbandar Navi Bandar police.
Chamre is survived by his parents, wife and two daughters, aged 8 and 6. His father Ramesh works as a laborer on fishing boats in their village. His mother, Anisia, said, “I have lost my eldest son, it is he who takes care of us.”
India is registering a strong protest against the firing, which was described as “unprovoked”. shridhar chamare, 32, belonged to Palghar district. His injured companion is being treated at a hospital in Okha, Gujarat. Fishermen along the coast in Palghar, including the village of Vadrai, where the Chamra lived, have called for a bandh on Monday.
Pakistan’s Coast Guard forces are being accused of being increasingly trigger-happy against Indian fishermen. This is the second incident since September 2015 in which a 40-year-old worker on a fishing boat was shot dead allegedly by the PMSA while crossing Indian waters. In September 2020, PMSA personnel fired at five Indian fishermen near the maritime boundary line off Jakhau coast in Kutch. One got injured. In February this year, Pakistan arrested 17 Indian fishermen and confiscated their boats for allegedly wandering in its territorial waters.
Pakistan has detained over 600 Indian fishermen and over 1,100 boats. Officials and fishing bodies have often complained that even when Pakistan releases fishermen, they keep their boats.
The latest incident, officials said, is still under investigation. The MEA said that India will take it up diplomatically with the Pakistani side.
Manish Lodhari, Chairman, Marine Fisheries Co-op Ltd, Porbandar said that the firing took place near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) at Jakhau in Kutch. The boat with seven crew members had left Okha port on 26 October. At around 4 pm on Saturday evening, PMSA soldiers fired on the trawler.
Unconfirmed reports said that Chamre was hit by three bullets and died on the spot. A bullet went into the cheek of Dilip Tandel, another laborer who was driving the boat.
The victim’s father Ramesh said that the family was informed about the incident by Jayantilal Rathod, the owner of the Jalpari boat. “My son went to work on the boat in mid-September. We are told that he was in Indian waters and he was stabbed in the chest.
Five other crew members narrowly escaped. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said in a statement that the police is investigating the matter and the crew members are being jointly interrogated. “The details can be shared only after the investigation is completed,” the statement said. At least four to five fishing boats are believed to have been around when the firing took place.
Devbhoomi Dwarka Superintendent of Police Sunil Joshi said the body was brought to Okha port and a case has been registered with Porbandar Navi Bandar police.
Chamre is survived by his parents, wife and two daughters, aged 8 and 6. His father Ramesh works as a laborer on fishing boats in their village. His mother, Anisia, said, “I have lost my eldest son, it is he who takes care of us.”
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