The Mumbai police had earlier stated that it is not feasible for them to probe such cases as there are language barriers and teams cannot be sent regularly to other states to probe cases.
A year after the Mumbai police had urged the Central Government that each state in western India should have its own coastal police station to investigate any criminal offences taking place in the sea near their respective coasts, the proposal is still gathering dust. With the police yet to receive any communication from the Centre on the request, the Yellow Gate police station in the city will remain the only coastal police station investigating offences along the entire Western coast, with a massive jurisdiction of 1,600 nautical miles between Gujarat and Kanyakumari.
The Mumbai police had earlier stated that it is not feasible for them to probe such cases as there are language barriers and teams cannot be sent regularly to other states to probe cases.
The proposal was mooted by the police to the Central Government through the State Government. "Since Yellow Gate police station is the only police station which covers a massive area in the sea from Gujarat till Kanyakumari, this police station has to register all criminal cases registered offshore and investigate them," said an officer from Mumbai police on the condition of anonymity.
The jurisdiction of the coastal police extends up to 12 nautical miles in the sea or territorial waters, and that of the Coast Guard extends from the baseline to the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone (from 0 to 200 nautical miles in the sea). The area beyond 200 nautical miles, or high seas, falls under the jurisdiction of the Indian Navy.
Citing difficulties that the Yellow Gate police face while probing cases that occur off the coastline of other states, a police officer said, "If a criminal offence has taken place in the sea either near Gujarat or any other southern coastal state, then the case comes to us. In such a case, we face a lot of language barriers. It becomes very difficult for us to send our police teams to other states regularly to probe the cases, trace the witnesses and record their statements."
"There is no response or notification from the Central Government yet on the proposal that was given to them informing them that every coastal state in western India should have its own coastal police station to probe criminal offences in waters in their region. Yellow gate, which has its jurisdiction from Kanyakumari till Kandla Port to investigate criminal cases, continues to do so," said Additional Commissioner of Police, south region, Pratap Dighavkar.
In September 2015, Iqbal Bhatti, 40, a fisherman from Okha in Gujarat died after he was fired upon by an unknown person aboard another boat bearing the Pakistan flag. The Okha police had transferred the case to the Yellow Gate police for probe. The firing had taken place off Gujarat coast.
In April, last year, the Yellow Gate police registered an offence under relevant sections of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act against eight Pakistani nationals who were caught by the Indian Coast Guard off Porbandar Coast in Gujarat with suspected heroin.
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