US navy ship did not warn Indian fishermen before opening fire
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, July 19, IRNA -- Dubai's police chief rejected the US claim that its navy ship had forewarned the Indian fishermen before opening fire and killing one of them.
'According to our findings and testimonies of the injured, I believe that they told the truth,' PTI news agency quoted Lieutenant-General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police as saying.
Tamil Nadu fisherman, Arumugam Sekar, was killed on Monday when an embarked security team aboard the USNS Rappahannock fired upon a small motor vessel near Jabel Ali off Dubai.
Tamim said that, according to the testimony of the Indian fishermen, they were not warned to move away by the US Navy.
The crew, which was interrogated by the US Navy after the incident, told the Dubai Police that they did not move towards the ship and instead attempted to avoid it.
The US Fifth Fleet claimed that the boat disregarded warnings and rapidly approached the US ship.
On Tuesday, India urged the UAE to investigate the shooting.
The Dubai Police has referred the case to the Dubai Public Prosecution for further investigation.
'We treat this incident as a normal case, the US navy should report the incident to the police if it occurred in the Dubai regional water,' Tamim said while criticising the way the US ship had dealt with the incident.
'The Dubai Police and port police stations have carried the necessary investigation and treated this as a murder case and all necessary legal action should be taken so the matter can be referred to the Dubai Public Prosecution,' he added.
Tamim explained that nobody has been arrested as the ship moved into international water after the shooting. He said that the US authorities are also investigating the incident.
'I believe this was mistake and the ship should not deal with the incident in this way,' Tamim said.
Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, M K Lokesh, said the UAE and the US have agreed to share with India the details of the ongoing investigation.
Earlier, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) wanted prosecution of the US Naval personnel involved in killing of an Indian fisherman and injury to three others in firing from an American naval ship off Dubai coast.
Terming the killing of an Indian fisherman by the US Navy as 'premeditated,' CPI(M) asked the government to demand the prosecution of those responsible, saying the same stand was taken in case of Italian personnel for a similar crime.
India's main opposition party, Bhartiya Janata Party on Tuesday demanded an apology from the US authorities for the killing of one Indian fisherman and injury to three others in firing from an American naval ship off Dubai coast and said a comprehensive inquiry should be conducted into the incident.
An Indian fisherman was killed and three others were wounded on Monday when a security team onboard a US Navy ship fired at their small boat off Dubai.
The fishing boat had four Indians and two Emirati nationals on board when the incident took place in Jabel Ali, a frequent docking point for American naval vessels about 30
miles southwest of Dubai.
2160**2050
Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 80238310
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
