Suspicious boat with assault rifles found in Maharashtra's Raigad, Devendra Fadnavis says 'no terror angle yet'

A security alert was sounded across Maharashtra after a suspicious boat, which reportedly made a distress call in June, was found adrift with weapons near Harihareshwar Beach in Raigad district on Thursday. Officials said that AK-47 rifles and other weapons were found in the boat. 

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis belongs to an Australian couple who abandoned it after engine trouble. Prima facie, there is no terror angle, but it is unclear why it was carrying arms. He said that all the police officials have been put on high alert and "we are constantly in touch with the Indian coast guard regarding the issue."

The boat, called Lady Han, is owned by Hana Laundergun, an Australian citizen. Her husband James Harbert is the captain, Fadnavis said.  

According to officials, the crew members of this boat had been rescued in June this year near the Oman coast. The police said the boat came floating to the Raigad coast. Officials are speaking to locals and fishermen to know more about the abandoned boat. A team of Maharashtra ATS has also been rushed to the spot.

Some locals spotted the boat, having no crew member, in Shrivardhan area, located more than 190 km from Mumbai, and alerted security agencies.

"As per primary info, some boats containing weapons & documents found in Harihareshwar & Bharadkhol of Shrivardhan in Raigad. Local Police is probing, I've demanded CM-Dy CM to urgently appoint special team of ATS or State Agency," said Aditi Tatkare, Shrivardhan (Raigad) MLA.

Raigad Police has announced a red alert in the entire district and has imposed nakabandi at prima locations.

"The boat was spotted by local fishermen around 8am. They suspected something amiss as fishing activities have not resumed due to the monsoon. The fishermen alerted the Shrivardhan police," said Dayanand Gawade, police inspector of Raigad local crime branch.

Times of India quoted a security official saying that in the last one month, they have found two such abandoned boats which had come drifting from Sri Lanka.

Coast Guard Commander General Paramesh Sivamani said, “This yacht had made a distress call on June 26 and four occupants were rescued from the Gulf of Oman. It was travelling to the UK and had a UK flag. This has drifted to Harihareshwar and there are three AK series assault rifles found and some small arms too.”

“We have spoken to the master of the yacht. One security agency from Dubai has also called us to confirm that the same series of arms from their register is missing. These arms may have been used for protection of the crew.”