A board of inquiry has been ordered into the death of a fisherman in alleged firing by Indian Coast Guard (IGC) personnel who were patrolling the waters of the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast.
According to a Coast Guard statement, one of its ships, patrolling off Gahirmatha coast, sighted a suspicious vessel at about 9.20 p.m. on January 11 last.
‘Evasive manoeuvres’
“On seeing the ICG ship, the trawler tried to flee. The ICG ship tried to stop the boat by using loudspeakers, searchlight and VHF. However, the boat did not stop and resorted to evasive manoeuvres in a bid to escape and during the process it rammed the ICG ship,” it said.
“The ICG ship fired warning shots in the air to stop the fishing boat. The suspect boat was subsequently stopped. Patrolling party boarded the ship. One person was found to be injured. He was immediately brought to harbour by the ICG ship and shifted to Paradip Port Hospital, where he was declared dead,” said the ICG.
The deceased had been identified as Mayadhar Mallick, hailing from Balasore district. When the news spread, members of Odisha Trawler Operators’ Association took to the street demanding action against the coast guard personnel.
