Acase has been registered against the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) for firing at a boat of an Indian fisherman and killing him near the international maritime boundary line in the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast on Saturday evening.

Porbandar Navi bandar police filed a ‘case of murder’ against 10 Pakistani Navy personnel.

The FIR has been lodged on behalf of Dilip Natu Solanki, a fisherman who was injured in the incident.

A 32-year-old fisherman from Thane in Maharashtra, Sridhar Ramesh Chamre, who was on a fishing boat ‘Jalpari,’ was killed after the PMSA personnel opened fire on him and other crew members on the evening of November 7.

One of the seven crew members aboard the boat sustained a minor injury in the incident and is being treated at a hospital in Gujarat’s Okha.

INDIA’S STATEMENT

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) confirmed that one person died and one person was injured in the firing that took place on Saturday.

“The case is under investigation at present by police authorities and the crew is being interviewed jointly. Details can be shared only after completion of the investigation,” it said in an official statement.

Following the incident, India had “taken serious note” of the PMSA resorting to “unprovoked firing on an Indian fishing boat” and decided to take up this issue diplomatically with the Pakistan side, official sources said.

Firing on traditional fishing boats is a clear violation of the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea.

PAKISTAN’S VERSION

Meanwhile, Pakistan claimed that the boat had “illegally transgressed” into the country’s territorial waters, adding that it fired at the Indian boat only when it paid no heed despite PMSA’s “warning” .

“Pakistan Maritime Security Agency’s ships attempted to interdict the intruding boat, which even after repeated warnings did not respond or change course. PMSA ship fired warning shots in the vicinity of the Indian boat but again the boat did not stop its engines. Subsequently, PMSA fired directly onto the Indian boat after which it halted,” an official statement said.

According to Pakistan’s statement, the other six people onboard the boat have been taken into custody for questioning.