Palghar fisherman death: Porbandar cops seize boat’s GPS device to find out exact location during firing

Two days after open firing by Pakistani Navy personnel left a fisherman dead and another badly injured, the Navi Bandar police in Porbandar district registered an FIR against unknown people in the matter. The investigating team has seized the GPS device installed on Jalpari, the boat that was targeted in the firing, to ascertain its exact location at the time of the incident. The Porbandar police told mid-day that the matter will be raised at the international level through the diplomatic channel.

Complainant Dilip Solanki, who was the driver of Jalpari, had a narrow escape during the firing - a bullet brushed past his face. The boat had a total of seven crew members, including the Palghar fisherman, who succumbed to his injuries. The police have recorded the statements of all the crewmembers. In the complaint, Solanki told the police that the incident happened when they were fishing in Indian waters.

Chamre's family members and neighbours mourn his death at his village in Palghar

"The FIR has been registered under section 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Arms Act," Ravi Mohan Saini, superintendent of police, Porbandar, told mid-day. Palghar fisherman Shreedhar Chamre's body was taken to Okha and later it was sent to Jamnagar for a post-mortem. His cousin Ramesh Chamre told mid-day that three bullets hit Shreedhar on his chest and stomach. "His body is expected to arrive at our (Vadrai) village early on Tuesday," said Ramesh.

Saini further said, "We have confiscated the GPS device for a forensic analysis to find out the exact location of the boat when the firing happened. The complainant told us that their boat was in Indian waters when the Pakistani Navy personnel arrived in two boats and started firing at them. First we will ascertain whether the GPS device was tampered with and then find out the exact location of the boat." He added, "The detailed forensic report will be submitted before the authority concerned and then the matter will be raised diplomatically with Pakistan."

The owner of Jalpari, Jayantibhai Rathod said, "There were a total of seven crew members. One of them died and another got injured, the rest are fine. The boat had left for fishing in the last week of October and was fired at by Pakistani Navy personnel when they were returning to Okha." When contacted, the defence PRO of Gujarat said he was not aware of the incident.