Shooting row: Plea to make captain an accused

KOLLAM: A petition was filed at the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court I seeking the inclusion of the captain of the Italian vessel Enrica Lexie, Umberto Vitelli, as an accused in the killing of two fishermen off Alappuzha coast. Admitting the petition, Magistrate Doney Varghese Thomas posted its hearing to Monday. The private petition filed by AIADMK state secretary and lawyer Sreenivas Venugopal states that the captain, who should have been the prime accused in the case, was excluded from the case under high-level political influence. It is a challenge to the judicial system of the country and would only lead to the charges against the two arrested marines losing ground, the petition says.