'TERROR' DRAMA ON THE HIGH SEAS BECOMES DRAMATIC ON HIGH GROUND

NEW DELHI: “Blow the boat off...we don’t want to serve them biryani…” is the confirmation that was required to prove what many in the strategic establishment have been suspecting all along, that the Pakistani ‘terror’ ship did not blow itself up on December 31, 2014 as was claimed by the Coast Guard and the Ministry of Defence.

The government, red in the face, over the above ‘revelations’ by a senior Coast Guard official is busy issuing contradictions and insisting that there is no second version to its initial story, that the Indian Coast Guard chased the Pakistani “terror” vessel, and when cornered the ‘terrorists” on board detonated the vessel with explosives. The Defence Ministry assertions now seem to be carrying little weight, with the officials remarks being picked up by the international media as well to raise legitimate questions over the high seas drama on New Years eve.



Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar at a press conference hinted at possible disciplinary action against Loshali. He stood by the Defence Ministry version insisted that the Pakistani boat had detonated itself. He added, “As of now we have a denial from him (Loshali). If any one shows evidence we will take disciplinary action against the DIG.” Parikkar went on to say “If the DIG has indeed made a statement then it is a wrong statement warranting an inquiry and disciplinary action.” He said that he would release evidence next week to prove his version of the incident.

The story broken by the Indian Express is based on video footage that has a Deputy Inspector General of the Coast Guard revealing what actually transpired on that fateful December 31, 2014 night. The newspaper report states, “The government’s version is now belied by remarks made by DIG B K Loshali — he is also Chief of Staff (North West Region), Coast Guard, Gandhinagar — at a gathering of officials from the Coast Guard and Larsen & Toubro during the launch of Coast Guard interceptor boat ICGS C-421, designed and built by L&T, Surat.

Loshali was speaking in the presence of Coast Guard DIG Sudhir Sahni, in-charge of refit and production; and G Sethy, Deputy Commandant, who are based in Surat. The interceptor boat was formally launched by Loshali’s wife Ira Loshali on the L&T premises at Hazira.

“Let me tell you,” he said, “I hope you remember 31st December night… we blew off that Pakistan… We have blown them off… I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don’t want to serve them biryani…”

Loshali began his speech saying, “Mujhe speech di gayi thi lekin main mann se baat karoonga (I was given a (written) speech, but I shall speak my mind).””

Loshali has subsequently retracted his words but not before these were captured on tape at the function. The remarks have created a virtual panic in the government that had spun out an elaborate story that the Coast Guard had given chase to this Pakistan boat carrying ‘terrorists’, 365 miles off Porbandar, and that finally the boats crew had detonated the vessel and themselves. Murmurs that this seemed like a ‘far fetched’ story were heard in the corridors of power, with a former senior intelligence officer breaking the silence with a column for The Citizen, that is being carried again now as a reminder of the questions that were raised, and remain unanswered in the government version of the incident.

The Ministry of Defence that had taken ownership of the incident had issued a statement on January 2 saying, “The Coast Guard ship warned the fishing boat to stop for further investigation of the crew and cargo; however, the boat increased speed and tried to escape away from the Indian side of maritime boundary. The hot pursuit continued for nearly one hour and the Coast Guard ship managed to stop the fishing boat after firing warning shots. Four persons were seen on the boat who disregarded all warnings by the Coast Guard ship to stop and cooperate with investigation. Soon thereafter, the crew hid themselves in below deck compartment and set the boat on fire, which resulted in explosion and major fire on the boat.”

Senior officials of the Coast Guard kept sharing details of the ‘incident’ with scribes over the next few days even as military sources picked holes in the version. According to the Coast Guard officials, they tracked the Pakistani boat for 18 hours before closing in on it, that they covered it from air and sea, that the terror suspects blew it up suddenly when they knew the game was up, that the boat sank without a trace, ---an elaborate story full of details that did not convince officers in the defence services who did not hide their scepticism in off the record conversations. In the Coast Guard version, the Indian Navy was given all the information but it chose not to initiate action. The boat could not have outrun the Coast Guard ship, the sources pointed out adding that if the explosives had been used as per the version here, the Pakistani ship would have blown apart, not caught fire as it has in the photographs.

Loshali’s version of the events stated confidently at the event, has now opened a rather unfortunate chapter that suggests a major ‘conspiracy’ at the highest level of the Coast Guard and perhaps even the government in re-inventing an incident on the high seas. The Pakistan boat, in this version, was manned by ‘terrorists’ and equipped with “weaponry, advanced communication and navigational equipment.” And how the Coast Guard’s crew aboard CGS Rajratan braved all odds to chase the ‘terror’ vessel and corner it to a point where it blew itself up.

Local fishermen interviewed by the media said they had not seen the fire on December 31 suggesting that this incident took place in international waters and not within the Indian territorial waters as is being claimed. And this has different legal implications altogether, as the Italian crew being tried in Kerala know.

A thorough investigation is clearly required into the incident, but given the fact that the Ministry of Defence itself is not questioning the Coast Guard version, it is not clear who then can be trusted as an impartial body to enquire into the high seas incident that has all the makings of a potboiler.