The controversy surrounding the Pakistani fishing boat that sunk down following massive fire onboard on New Year's eve in high seas off the coast of Porbandar refuses to die down.
Under pressure to undo the damage caused by North West Region chief of staff, DIG B K Loshali's statement that it was he who ordered to blow up the Pakistani boat, the government on Friday released a video of the boat. While the video, released through a television channel, shows fire raging on the entire boat with intermittent low intensity explosions, it unfortunately fails to establish what caused the fire.
Through the video, the government, apparently, wanted to establish its oft-repeated stand that it was a boat carrying terrorists who set it on fire and died after being challenged by the Coast Guard.
Taking a cue from the In reply, Pakistan foreign office spokesperson,Tasneem Aslam was quick to add that as they had mentioned earlier, their authorities conducted their own investigations in the wake of Indian media reports. These investigations concluded that neither any Pakistani boat was missing nor has there been any evidence so far to suggest that it was a Pakistani boat.
"We have noted the statements, their retractions, confusion and controversies that this trigger happy episode has created in India," said Aslam.
Lambasting counter theories other than the government's views, BJP spokesperson, Sambit Patra called them against India's national interest and helping Pakistan steal a march because of the confusion.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard on Friday ordered a board of inquiry against its North West Region Chief of Staff, DIG B K Loshali after finding his reply "unsatisfactory" to a show cause notice on his remarks that he had ordered blowing up of a Pakistani boat.
"DIG B K Loshali was served a showcause notice on February 18. The reply to the notice has been received and is found to be unsatisfactory. Therefore, in accordance with the extant procedures a board of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the details and establish the facts," the Coast Guard said in a release.
Speaking at a launch function in Surat on February 16, DIG Loshali had contradicted government's claim that the crew on an intruding Pakistani boat had set it ablaze. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and the Coast Guard have maintained that when the boat was chased by Coast Guard ships four men on board had set it on fire.
The Coast Guard also circulated a CD of the December 31 operation off the Porbandar coast among the journalists to back their claim that the boat was blown up by its Pakistani occupants.
However, no evidence has surfaced so far that the occupants of the boat were Pakistani or terrorists.
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