Italy approaches SC to quash FIR against marines

A day after reaching an agreement on the compensation to be paid to the relatives of the two fishermen killed, the Italian government today reportedly approached the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of the FIR against the two Italian marines who have been arrested in the case and accused of murder.

The government has filed an appeal before the apex court seeking that the FIR against the two marines be quashed, CNN-IBN reported.

The petition comes a day after the Italian government and relatives of the two fishermen killed in the incident reportedly reached an agreement on the amount of compensation to be paid. The Italian government has reportedly agreed to pay the families of the two fishermen Rs one crore each.

The two Indian fishermen, Ajesh Binki, 25, and Valentine Jelastine, 45, were allegedly mistaken as pirates and shot dead by the two security crew of cargo vessel Enrica Lexie on 15 February, about 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha in Kerala.

As per the new agreement reached between the Italian government, the compensation petition against the two marines and shipping company would be withdrawn but it would not affect the criminal proceedings which are on against them, C Unnikrishanan, legal counsel for one of the victims , had said.

The two Italian marines, Latorre Massimillano and Salvatore Girone, are presently in judicial custody till 30 April. They are presently in the Thiruvanathapuram central prison.

Relatives of the two marines visited them in jail yesterday and are expected to be in the country for the next 10 days.