KOCHI: “The firing on Indian fishermen by two Italian marines- Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone-off the Kerala coast was an act of terrorism,” the Kerala High Court on Friday observed based on the first information report (FIR) filed by the Neendakara police.“As far as Indians and the victims’ families were concerned, the firing against the innocent fishermen without any provocation was an act of terrorism. According to the FIR, the poor fishermen were attacked in broad daylight and they were killed without even giving them a warning. At the time of the incident, some of them were sleeping. The driver of the boat was the one who was shot dead. It is an act of terrorism. What else could we term this?” the court observed. Justice P S Gopinathan made this observation when a petition filed by ‘Dolphin Tankers,’ the owner of the Italian vessel ‘Enrica Lexie,’ seeking its release from Cochin port, came up for hearing.The court adjourned the hearing of the case to Tuesday. The court also asked why the ship has to be detained till the investigation is over.Meanwhile, the Central and State governments took different stands regarding the release of the vessel. Assistant Solicitor-General P Parameswaran Nair submitted that the Ministry of Shipping had issued no-objection certificate to the vessel to sail out.Appearing for the state, Advocate-General K P Dandapani strongly opposed the release of the ship saying that the vessel cannot be permitted to leave Kochi as a probe is on into the firing incident. “In case the forensic report reveals tampering of evidence, further investigation will be needed. Therefore, investigation will have to be conducted inside the vessel for seizing other material objects and evidence. So the presence of the vessel in Kochi is essential,” the AG said.According to investigation officer Sam Christy Daniel, the forensic scientific test has not been completed yet and it is expected to be completed within the next 10 days. The police had also sent a letter to the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) seeking a report of the inquiry. Without getting the reports, the police cannot grant permission to the vessel to leave Kochi.However, the owner of the vessel submitted that the police officials are deliberately delaying the release of the vessel. The Special Investigation Team, the MMD and the Coast Guard had conducted an on board inspection and they had checked all equipment and records on the vessel. The agencies had also recorded the statements of the master and crew and completed the investigation, the petitioners submitted.Citing the French espionage case, counsel for the victims’ family V M Shyam Kumar said that once the vessel is released, it would escape from the clutches of law. To which the ship owners submitted that they would be available whenever asked by the court.
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