With Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy talking tough and Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Steffan de Mistura holding his ground, a meeting between them here late tonight failed to end the standoff on the issue of killing of two Indian fishermen at sea.
Emerging from over an hour-long closed-door meeting, Chandy said that there was no point in discussing the matter as "it is a murder case". "The case will go by its legal process only," he said.
Mitsura on the other hand maintained that the incident had taken place in international waters and sought immunity from prosecution for the two guards of the Italian oiltaker who allegedly shot dead the two Indian fishermen off Kollam coast.
Chandy, however, said the "demand for defence protection (immunity) could not be approved at this juncture".
Mitsura said that such an incident could take place with Indian military personnel in any part of the world, according to Chandy.
The Chief Minister said the Italian side sought to raise the issue of compensation for the families of the victims.
But Chandy said that the fishermen were killed in a "brutal manner" and "we did not discuss" the compensation issue.
The Italian side wanted to meet the relatives of the fishermen but were told that the situation is "not right" for it, Chandy said.
Mistura said that the discussions were "fruitful".
"We have full faith in the judiciary... and we hope that something would come up in coming days," the Italian Minister said.
However, Chandy asserted that the the only agreement is that the law will take its own course.
According to Chandy, Mitsura said that the guards of the ship opened fire to protect the vessel.
Earlier, Chandy said in Thiruvanathapuram that his government would go ahead with prosecution of the two Italian naval guards who allegedly killed the Indian fishermen off Kollam coast, saying "it is the right and power of the state".
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