ID :
229564
Fri, 02/24/2012 - 14:23
Auther :

Italy pins hopes on result of ballistic test of weapons in Indian fishermen killing case

New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) With India sticking to its stance that it will go only by the law of the land in handling the case of the killing of its two fishermen by Italian marines, Italy today pinned its hopes on the ballistic examination of the weapons used saying it would help bring out the truth. In India on a situation salvage mission, Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Steffan de Mistura, who returned from his two-day visit to the southern Kerala state this morning, met M Ganapathi, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, and briefed him about his talks with local authorities. "We want the truth. All of us, the Indian people, the Italian people and the truth will come out very much through the ballistic test," he told reporters after the meeting. "It will help all of us to be able to discover whether there was good faith mistake done by the Judges who decided or felt that the Italian military were wrong or that there was a good faith mistake by the Italian military," he said. In either case, the test becomes crucial and it will give us the truth, Mistura said and welcomed the Kerala High Court decision to allow Italian experts to be present during the ballistic examination of the weapons used by the marines. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin reiterated India's position on the issue by making it clear that the law of the land should be allowed to take its own course. "We have been consistently saying that we have a free, fair and independent judiciary and it is best if the law of the land takes its own course," he said. A murder case has been registered in connection with the incident. Mistura said "the fact that they are allowing Italian experts to be present during this crucial issue of ballistic test is a sign of transparency and to make sure that we all feel comfortable with the proceedings and that will help all of us." Two Indian fishermen were killed by Italian marines off the Kollam coast in Kerala on Wednesday last suspecting them to be sea pirates. Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata will be here on Tuesday to meet his Indian counterpart S M Krishna and others to discuss the issue. The visiting Minister is also likely to travel to Kerala. Meanwhile, in Kochi, the Kerala High Court today directed arrest of the Italian ship Enrica Lexie on a petition by Doramma, wife of Jelestine, one of the two fishermen killed. A division bench comprising justices V Ramkumar and K Harilal said the ship should be restrained at Cochin port itself as it accepted the plea of Doramma, who had challenged a single judge's decision, permitting the release of the ship after submitting Rs 2.55 million as deposit. She submitted that the security amount was meagre and inadequate and if the court finds the petitioners are entitled to more compensation, they may not be able to realise the award amount. The bench will take up the appeal on Monday. PTI

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