Indian fisherman shot dead by Pak off Gujarat coast; matter being probed

India has condemned the killing of a fisherman from Maharashtra by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) near the international maritime boundary line in the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast on Saturday and initiated an investigation into the incident, reports said.

“We have taken serious note of this incident. We are going to take up this issue diplomatically with the Pakistani side. The matter is under investigation and further details will be shared in due course,” a source told NDTV.

The fisherman was killed after being shot by PMSA personnel in what India has called “an unprovoked firing”. Another who was injured is being treated at a hospital in Gujarat’s Okha.

Devbhumi Dwarka Superintendent of Police Sunil Joshi said there were a total of seven crew members on the boat.

The body of the deceased fisherman, Sridhar Ramesh Chamre (32), was brought to Okha port on Sunday and an FIR was being registered by the Porbandar districts Navi Bandar police, which has jurisdiction across Gujarat over any incident that occurs beyond 12 nautical miles in the Arabian sea, he added.

“Chamre was on the fishing boat Jalpari, which had sailed from Okha on October 25 with seven crew members, five of whom from Gujarat and two from Maharashtra,” Joshi said.

The fishing boat was registered at Veraval in Gir Somnath district of Gujarat, he said.

Meanwhile, a pall of gloom descended on Chamre’s native Vadrai village in Palghar district of Maharashtra, after the local residents learnt about his death. Chamre was in the cabin of the boat when he was hit by bullets, said Jayantibhai Rathod, the owner of the fishing boat.

“Three bullets hit him on the chest, following which he died. The captain of the boat was also injured in the indiscriminate firing by the Pakistani personnel,” Rathod told the media.

Chamre had been working on the fishing boat for the last three months at Diu Daman.

Chamre’s body is likely to reach Vadrai village in a couple of days, he said. Meanwhile, the residents of Vadrai said that if at all the boat had entered the Pakistan waters, the crew members could have been held captive by the neighbouring country instead of being fired upon.

(With inputs from PTI)