Italian crew members in Kollam today, murder charges likely

Kollam: Two Italian Navy personnel who were part of a crew that allegedly shot two Indian fishermen dead were taken into custody on Sunday and will be brought to Kollam on Monday. They were earlier taken ashore and detained by the Kerala police. The two are likely to be held on charges of murder.

An Italian delegation, including officials from their Legal and Foreign ministries, had arrived earlier in Delhi on Sunday and met Indian officials in connection with the incident. In the meeting that lasted over three hours, the Indian delegation insisted that it would have to take criminal action against the Italians because Indian citizens had been killed in Indian controlled waters.

The Italians have pressed for action under Italian law, claiming that the incident took place in international waters. The visiting Italian team is now expected in Kochi for further legal consultations.

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Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi had also telephoned his Indian counterpart Krishna who told him that the captain of the Italian oil tanker must cooperate with Indian law enforcers.

Krishna, according to a statement by the External Affairs Ministry, said the loss of lives could have been avoided had the naval personnel onboard “Enrica Lexie” been careful and exercised restraint.

He told Terzi that “information clearly indicated that the Indian fishermen were not carrying any arms or ammunition on board their vessel. Indian fishing vessels do not carry these on board but only fishing nets and the fish they catch”.

The two fishermen — Ajesh Binki (25) and Jalastein (45) — were killed off Kollam coast near Kerala when armed guards of the ship fired at their boat, suspecting it to be a vessel belonging to pirates. The police also recorded the statements of the crew and examined documents. They are now counting on ballistic tests and GPS co-ordinates to further strengthen their case.

The sources say that the fishermen’s boat was riddled with 16 bullet holes.