Coast Guard Deputy Inspector General (DIG) B.K. Loshali on Wednesday claimed that he has been misquoted and said the Pakistani boat, which was near the Indian maritime border on the intervening night of December 31, 2014 and January 1, 2015, actually set itself on fire and sunk.
"I was there at Surat for the launch of IB 421. And I mentioned that with the induction of these IBs, our coastal security mechanism will be strengthened further. At the same width, I mentioned that no international element will be allowed to breach our coastal security and we are not going to serve them biryanis. The operations are classified in nature. I have been misquoted. The boat had actually set itself on fire and sunk," Loshali told the media.
"I am the staff chief of the region and I am not directly related to the conduct of operation. As you all know, all uniform services are hierarchical services. So, all directives, guidance have to come from the Commander Coast Guard. In this present case, Kuldeep Sharon. So, I am not in a position to take my own independent decision, as it has been quoted in the paper," he added.
As per a report in a daily newspaper, Loshali had ordered officers following the Pakistani vessel to 'blow the boat off', thus contradicting the government's claim that the boat had exploded under suspicious circumstances.
On December 31, the Coast Guard had intercepted an explosive-laden Pakistani fishing boat in the Arabian Sea off the Porbandar coast, near the India-Pakistan maritime boundary which lies approximately 365 kilometres away from Porbandar.
A statement by the Ministry of Defence had said that intelligence inputs indicated that the boat was planning some illicit transaction in the Arabian Sea. Based on the information, a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft undertook a sea-air coordinated search and located the suspect vessel.
According to the statement, on being warned, the suspects increased the speed of the boat and attempted to flee to maritime boundary before ultimately setting the vessel on fire resulting in an explosion. Ultimately, the boat burnt and sank in the early hours of January 1. None of the people on board could be saved and the material could not be recovered.
